By 2021, the Dutch government wants to begin phasing out the OV Chipkaart payment method used by public transportation operators for nearly a decade, the top deputy at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management wrote in a letter to parliament. New payment options will be meant to bring the options for local commuters inline with existing and future technologies commonly available to public transit users globally, Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven-van der Meer said.
public transit
Jul 3 '19 07:48
No buses or trams are running in The Hague between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Employees of city transport company HTM are striking for better working conditions. They want a wage increase and a lower workload, among other things, NOS reports.
HTM said it tried to keep the buses and trams running as much as possible, but that turned out not to be an option. "It is very annoying that our travelers are once again the victim, but we simply do not find it responsible", the HTM management said.
Jun 11 '19 14:50
The Dutch government is considering introducing levies so that those who benefit from public transport also help pay for its improvements, Financieele Dagblad reports based on documents the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management sent to parliament over the past six months.
May 29 '19 08:05
After a nationwide 24-hour long strike on Tuesday, public transit employees are back at work. The transit companies managed to restart their services without major issues.
NS reports no strike-related faults or delays on its website. The only delays reported have to do with planned track maintenance on the Leeuwarden-Meppel route, which will last until Sunday.
May 28 '19 16:06
As a national one-day public transit strike was almost halfway finished in the Netherlands, traffic was already beginning to pile up on highways in the Netherlands from 3 p.m. on Tuesday. Drivers jammed up nearly 450 kilometers of highways by 4:45 p.m., up from roughly 300 kilometers of traffic jams 40 minutes earlier, according to travelers' association ANWB.
May 28 '19 12:00
The public transit strike left train stations throughout the Netherlands largely deserted on Tuesday morning. People gathered in the stations were largely tourists who did not know about the strike.
Tourists Rachel, Angie, and Acqua were caught by surprise when they arrived at Amsterdam Central Station. They have a hotel booked in Rotterdam. A volunteer from Red Cross explained the strike to them.
May 28 '19 11:10
A total of 82 flights at Schiphol airport were canceled on Tuesday due to a nationwide public transit strike. "Travelers have to check with their airline if their flight is affected", a spokesperson for the airport said to NH Nieuws.
May 28 '19 10:30
Due to a nationwide public transit strike in the Netherlands on Tuesday, Dutch had to make alternative arrangements to get to work, school or university. Schiphol CEO Dick Benschop decided to spend the night at the airport, instead of risking not being able to reach it on Tuesday.
May 28 '19 08:49
While the nationwide public transit strike is annoying to most people, taxi drivers are smiling all the way. "Such a public transit strike can happen more often, according to us", a taxi driver at Amsterdam Central Station said to NOS. He expects a busy day. "We will see how many people we can help today."
May 28 '19 07:11
A nationwide public transit strike means that more people are taking the car to work on Tuesday and an extremely busy morning rush hour is expected. By 7:30 a.m. there were already 300 kilometers of traffic jams on Dutch roads. "It is twice as busy on the roads as usual around this time", the ANWB said, NU.nl reports.
May 27 '19 18:50
A nationwide public transit strike will cause major traffic problems on Tuesday, Dutch travelers' association ANWB warns. The strike is expected to bring almost all public transit across the Netherlands to a halt.
May 27 '19 10:42
With a nationwide public transit strike scheduled for Tuesday, Dutch are looking for other ways to get around tomorrow. Carpool- and ride sharing hashtags are already trending on social media. If you want to offer or request a ride, look for hashtags like #liftaangeboden, #meerijden #carpool, #carpoolen, #samenrijden, #liftnodig, #treinstaking, #ovstaking.
May 27 '19 09:14
While a court ruled that some trains still have to run between Schiphol and Amsterdam during a nationwide public transit strike on Tuesday, the strike is still expected to cause chaos at the airport. NS hopes that the court-ordered shuttle service will prevent large groups of travelers getting stranded at the Amsterdam airport, but the Dutch rail company warns that it is definitely not sufficient for normal passenger numbers, the Telegraaf reports.
May 26 '19 16:21
Trains must continue to take passengers to and from Schiphol Airport during a national public transit strike scheduled for Tuesday, a court in the Netherlands ruled on Sunday. Though buses, subways and trams will grind to a halt, the transportation unions were ordered to ensure that at least four trains per hour will run each way between Amsterdam Centraal and Schiphol.
May 24 '19 13:10
NS advises travelers not to depend on train traffic on Tuesday, due to a nationwide public transit strike for a better pension system. The Dutch rail company expects that the strike will result in little to no trains running on Tuesday. NS warns of "serious nuisance" for passengers.
May 23 '19 16:20
A number of Dutch universities and colleges plan to continue with their exams and lectures as usual on Tuesday, despite a nationwide strike in public transport. National students' union LSVb is furious that students may be forced to miss important lectures or exams through something that is completely out of their control. "We think it's really absurd", a spokesperson for LSVb said to NOS.
May 23 '19 15:40
The city of Amsterdam could open the IJ Tunnel to bicycle traffic on Tuesday as a measure to combat the impact in the capital city of the national public transit strike. The tunnel is normally used as a throughway exclusively for motor vehicle traffic between Amsterdam Noord and Centrum.
May 23 '19 09:36
The police, Dutch mayors and various large companies issued a joint call on the Dutch government to ban firecrackers and rockets. They want to uphold the tradition of lighting your own fireworks over New Year's, but only with "safe decorative fireworks", they said in a full-page advertisement that will soon appear in national newspapers, RTL Nieuws reports.
May 20 '19 14:40
Regional public transit companies announced that they will join employees of NS and the city transporters in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague in a strike for a better pension system on May 28th. That means that nearly all public transit in the Netherlands will be shut down next week Tuesday, union FNV announced. Labour party PvdA expressed support for the strike.
May 8 '19 16:00
A massive 24-hour strike by public transportation workers was scheduled by trade union FNV. The labor protest will affect the national railway firm NS, as well as public transit in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, and Den Haag, the three biggest cities in the Netherlands, FNV revealed on Wednesday.
The strike is set for May 28, and could include regional transportation workers as well, though that will be announced in the future. The labour union also called on workers in other sectors to strike on May 29.
May 2 '19 18:49
A new plan by Amsterdam's city leadership announced on Thursday aims to ban all petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030. The ban is part of the Actieplan Schone Lucht, or Clean Air Action Plan, and covers cars, trucks, mass transit and boats within an expansive emissions-free zone.
Introduced by the city's mayor and aldermen, it will be debated by the full city council from the end of this month, and followed by a six-week period for public comment.
Apr 26 '19 17:49
Residents of and visitors to Amsterdam may have to take an alternative route when moving about the city on King's Day today. Parts of the city are blocked off to car traffic, and public transit in the capital are running on adjusted schedules and alternative routes.
Apr 24 '19 14:20
Rail manager ProRail is going to invest 3.5 billion euros into building more train stations and renewing and modernizing existing ones over the next 10 years, ProRail CEO Pier Eringa announced with the rail manager's annual figures on Wednesday, NU.nl reports.
More train stations need to be built, especially as more and more residential areas are being built. Many municipalities already asked for their 'own' station, Eringa said. According to ProRail, there is room for about 20 new train stations, but they will only be built after negotiations with governments and financiers.
Apr 1 '19 16:00
The Netherlands will implement its burka ban, officially called the Partial Ban On Face Covering Clothing Act, on August 1st. From that day on no face covering clothing may be worn in education, in government buildings, in healthcare and on public transit, AD reports.
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