Teens plan sit-in at Amsterdam Centraal over end of discount travel pass

Dozens of young demonstrators plan to stage a sit-in at Amsterdam Centraal station on Sunday afternoon to protest the cancellation of the jongerendagkaart, a popular youth discount travel pass.

The action is organized by Fridays For Future Nederland, which announced that participants will begin their demonstration at 1 p.m. The group describes the protest as a call to political leaders in The Hague to invest more in public transportation.

"Good public transport is not a luxury, but a basic necessity—especially for young people who often have no alternative," the organizer said in a statement.

Nederlandse Spoorwegen eliminated the jongerendagkaart on July 1. The pass, introduced in 2020, allowed travelers aged 12 to 18 to make unlimited trips during off-peak hours for a fixed price of 8.50 euros per day.

In place of the scrapped pass, youths between 12 and 17 years old now receive a 40 percent discount during off-peak hours, according to NS.