Smart lock on public transport bike leaves hundreds stranded per month

Over two years after its introduction, the smart lock on NS’s public transport bicycles still leaves hundreds of travelers stranded per month. In the last month for which NS has figures available, over 1,000 travelers couldn’t complete their journey on the OV bikes because the lock wouldn’t open for them halfway through, BNR reports.

The smart lock, introduced early in 2021, allows public transport users to unlock the bicycle with their OV chip card. The idea is to make traveling public transport more accessible. Almost 7,000 public transport bicycles - about a third of the NS fleet - are equipped with the lock.

But more than two years later, the lock is still experiencing teething problems. Many travelers who take a bike at the train station and lock it at their destinations can’t open the lock again for the return journey. The NS online forum has dozens of complaints from people experiencing this problem. In some cases, NS also fined the victim 50 euros for not returning the bicycle to the station.

NS is aware of the problems, a spokesperson told BNR. According to him, it mainly concerns bicycles the previous user never checked out on. When the next traveler takes it and locks it outside the station, the lock won’t open again. In the last month NS has data for, that happened over a thousand times, almost 1 percent of all trips on public transport bikes.

The NS spokesperson couldn’t say how many affected travelers also received a fine, but he called it “very annoying.” Travelers who got 50 euros deducted from their OV chip cards because they didn’t return a locked bike to the station can report to NS for a refund, he said.

The rail company is looking for a solution to the problem and, in the meantime, is focusing on behavioral change among travelers. For example, at some stations, the rail company is reminding travelers to check out over the intercom.