News of: Thursday, January 29 2009,
Today is the first day that the 'strippenkaart' can no longer be used in a part of the public transport system in Holland. In the metro in Rotterdam the OV-chipcard is the only way to get access, from now on.
According to the first reports, the transition went relatively smoothly. There were only some minor problems. The Rotterdam RET had deployed 2,000 extra staff today, in order to assist the public and fix problems where necessary.
The OV-chipcard will eventually replace all other tickets in the Dutch public transport (all buses, trams, metros and trains).
In Amsterdam, the OV-chipcard can already be used on all buses, trams and metros, alongside the old 'strippenkaart'. The plan is to abolish the strippenkaart in the Amsterdam metro by April, but this might be postponed to later this year.
The NS (the Dutch Railways) announced that the paper ticket will continue to be used until at least 2012. The OV-chipcard can be used on trains starting October this year.
As yet, there are no easy-to-use OV-chipcards for tourists available. It is advised you use the current day-card possibilities provided by the GVB (see www.gvb.nl).
More info on the (current) strippenkaart system.
More info on the new OV-chipkaart.
OV chip card
