The OV-chipkaart
The OV-chipkaart is the new public transport smartcard, the ticket for all
public transport in the Netherlands. You only need a single card for the train,
train, bus and metro. You use this card to check in for each mode of transport
as you depart and to check out again when you arrive. You can load various
season tickets onto your OV-chipkaart that let you travel more cheaply. You can
also use it as an e-purse (travelling on pre-paid credit). This means you do not
need separate paper tickets any more.
You can already check in and out with the OV-chipkaart at NS, but it is not yet
mandatory. The paper tickets will disappear in the longer term. You will then
only be able to travel with NS by checking in and out with an OV-chipkaart.
You pay the same amount for a journey on an NS route with the OV-chipkaart as
you do for a paper ticket. You can look up the fares in the
Journey planner.
Travelling on NS with the OV-chipkaart
If you buy an NS season ticket, you automatically get a free
OV-chipkaart in your name. Buying an NS season ticket maybe cheaper if you are
staying in the Netherlands for some time. At the moment, it is only possible to
buy an NS season ticket if you have a Dutch bank account and a Dutch home
address.
If you already have an OV-chipkaart in your name, you can have the season-ticket
placed on the personalised card.
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A personalised OV-chipkaart with one of the following season tickets on it:
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A personalised OV-chipkaart that you have purchased through ov-chipkaart.nl |
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A personalised OV-chipkaart that you have purchased from another carrier |
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An anonymous OV-chipkaart |
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An NS-Business Card |
Not yet available to everyone
Some NS passengers will only be able to check in and out with their OV-chipkaart travel with NS at a later date:
- NS or public transport annual route season ticket
- Monthly network or monthly route season ticket
- Children who are travelling on a Railrunner ticket
If one of those groups applies to you, then you can keep travelling for now in the way you are familiar with. When these types of season tickets are also converted to the OV-chipkaart, we will keep you up to date on ns.nl.