OV-chipkaart
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| Location | The Netherlands |
|---|---|
| Launched | 2005 |
| Technology |
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| Operator | Trans Link Systems |
| Manager | NS, Connexxion, GVB, HTM and RET |
| Currency | Euro (€4, €10 or €20 depending on travel mode minimum load, €150 maximum load) |
| Stored-value | Travel on credit ('reizen op saldo') or travel product ('reisproduct') |
| Auto recharge | Automatic reload ('automatisch opladen') |
| Validity | |
| Retailed |
|
| Website | OV-chipkaart.nl |
The OV-chipkaart (short for openbaar vervoer chipkaart, meaning public transport chipcard) is a contactless smart card system used for all public transport in the Netherlands. First introduced in the Rotterdam metro in April 2005, it has subsequently been rolled out to other areas and travel modes. It fully replaced the national strippenkaart system for buses, trams and metros in 2011 and the paper ticket system for rail travel in July 2014.
The OV-chipkaart is available in disposable form (for occasional passengers, such as tourists) and reusable versions (for frequent travellers, either in anonymous or personalized forms).
The OV-chipkaart is a collaborative initiative of five large public transport operators in the Netherlands: the main rail operator NS, the bus operator Connexxion and the municipal transport operators of the three largest cities: GVB (Amsterdam), HTM (The Hague) and RET (Rotterdam), though all public transport operators in the Netherlands now use the system. It is operated through a joint venture named Trans Link Systems (TLS).
The OV-chipkaart system was first implemented in the Rotterdam Metro in April 2005. The Amsterdam Metro followed suit in 2006 by accepting the card as an alternative method of payment. All trams and buses in Rotterdam accepted the OV-chipkaart from June 2007 onwards, and coverage in Amsterdam was extended to all trams and buses in November 2008. Traditional paper tickets and the OV-chipkaart were used concurrently in the Amsterdam and Rotterdam metropolitan areas until mid 2010, when the OV-chipkaart became the only valid fare system. Paper-based, single-use tickets and the national strippenkaart system were subsequently phased out throughout the country on an area-by-area basis. The strippenkaart system was formally abandoned in November 2011.
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Wikipedia