OV-chipkaart

OV-chipkaart

Location	The Netherlands
Launched	2005
Operator	Trans Link Systems
Validity	All public transport in the Netherlands
Website	OV-chipkaart.nl

OV-chipkaart reader at Utrecht Centraal railway station.

The OV-chipkaart is a contactless smart card system for all public transport in the Netherlands. It fully replaced the previous strippenkaart system for public transport payment on 3 November 2011. The full name in Dutch is Openbaarvervoerchipkaart (literally "public transport chip card") though this full name is almost never used: the shorter OV-chipkaart is used, as is the abbreviation OV to refer to public transport.

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 municiplal transport operators of the three largest cities: GVB (Amsterdam), HTM (The Hague) and RET (Rotterdam). These five companies established the joint venture Trans Link Systems (abbreviated TLS) to develop and implement the OV-chipkaart, though all public transport companies in the Netherlands use and are able to use the system as well.

History and coverage

The OV-chipkaart has been valid with all Dutch public transport operators since 2011. The OV-chipkaart was first introduced to 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.

Both 'paper' tickets and the OV-chipkaart were able to be bought and used on public transport in Amsterdam and Rotterdam until mid-2010, after which only the OV-chipkaart could be used to pay for one's journey. Support for 'paper' single-use tickets and the strippenkaart system was then withdrawn area-by-area, for example in the province of South Holland on 19 May 2011. The strippenkaart ceased to be valid anywhere in the country on 3 November 2011, making the OV-chipkaart the only valid form of ticket for buses, trams and metro systems in the Netherlands.

The OV-chipkaart has been valid when travelling with the rail operator Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch Railways, NS) since October 2009, and in combination with discount subscriptions since December 2009. Traditional paper tickets are still valid on NS services and some season tickets are sold as loose tickets rather than as a OV-chipkaart subscription.

The cards themselves

Types of cards

Three versions of OV-chipkaart are available: the disposable OV-chipkaart, the anonymous OV-chipkaart, and the personal OV-chipkaart.

As of 2012, three card types exist and are in regular use: single- or short-term-use disposable 'tickets', the anonymous OV-chipkaart and the personal OV-chipkaart. The latter two types are valid for between five and six years, have the ability to store credit (cf. electronic purse) and one must pay a one-off fee in order to obtain one.

Disposable tickets

The disposable version of the OV-chipkaart is made of stiff paper and is thrown away after use. It can only be used for travel products (such as having unlimited travel on a particular network for a certain period of time), and cannot be topped up with credit since it does not feature an electronic purse. These 'tickets' are intended for people who don't use public transport in the Netherlands often, mainly tourists. They can be purchased from machines or from on-board buses and trams.

Anonymous OV-chipkaart

The anonymous OV-chipkaart (Dutch: anonieme OV-chipkaart) is a reusable card for people who travel more frequently. Unlike the versions, it does have an electronic purse feature and one pays per kilometre travelled when using it. The balance (saldo) of the card is "topped up" at vending machines or at manned kiosks, and the appropriate balance is deducted after each journey. The card is transferable between persons (though only one person can use an anonymous OV-chipkaart at any one time) and, therefore, cannot be used to hold season tickets longer than a few days in duration. Anonymous cards are obtainable from vending machines and kiosks for a fee but can be used immediately, unlike a personal OV-chipkaart.

Personal OV-chipkaart

The personal OV-chipkaart (Dutch: persoonlijke OV-chipkaart) is similar to the anonymous version of the OV-chipkaart, though it is able to store season tickets and other travel products of a period longer than a single month. The personal version of the card is non-transferable and features a photograph of its holder and his/her date of birth on the obverse. Other advantages of the personal card are that it can be blocked if it is lost or stolen, and it can be set to automatically "top up" when the electronic purse credit drops below a certain level. A personal OV-chipkaart is also able to store discount products based on the age of its holder, e.g. children aged between 4 and 11, and senior citizens over the age of 55.

As of 2012, one must fill in a form online or at a kiosk in order to apply for a card which later arrives by post. The personal OV-chipkaart is intended for use by residents of the Netherlands, though anybody with a Dutch address and bank account is eligible to apply for one.

Technology

The 2012 OV-chipkaarts are based on NXP Semiconductors) Mifare technology. The anonymous and personal versions of the card are Mifare Classic 4K cards, protected from unlawful access by security keys known only to the vendor. The disposable 'tickets' are cheaper Mifare Ultralight cards that do not employ any encryption, and can be read by anyone.

The Mifare Crypto-1 encryption algorithm was believed to have been cracked in 2007 but, despite this, transport companies continued with the introduction of the OV-chipkaart. The authorities claimed that they would be able to detect fraudulent activity (e.g. cloned cards, unlawful electronic purse "topping up") and blacklist suspect cards. More recent developments include first Linux- and later Microsoft Windows-based software designed to add electronic purse credit to an OV-chipkaart in ways undetectable by Trans Link Systems. Also, the current card-checking technology fails to reveal fraudulent "check-ins" made on board. In lieu of these developments, the Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment is continuing to introduce the OV-Chipkaart, but has announced that Trans Link Systems will start producing cards with the more fraud-resistant SmartMX technology^{[citation needed]}.

Travelling with the OV-chipkaart

Gates at the metro platform at Rotterdam Blaak station.

Card reader (grey unit, centre) and strippenkaart validator (yellow, further inside) on a GVB tram.

Travellers can buy a travel product, for example a one-day pass for an entire city or a monthly season ticket for a certain route. When they check out after the trip (see next section), the system will recognise that a certain product has been used and, if applicable, use it.

The other option is to use money from the electronic purse on the OV-chipkaart. At check-in, the system charges a checking-in fee, ranging from 4 to 20 euro, depending on the type of transport and the discount. This fee is higher than the fares for most of the possible journeys. The excess is refunded when the traveller checks out. Thus, if a user fails to check out, he/she pays more than the regular price, detering misuse of the system. If checking out fails because all card readers are out of order, the traveller can claim the excess fee back from the transport company that was being used. If a traveller fails to check out too many times, the card is blocked and cannot be used again even if there is a valid product on it.^{[citation needed]} Also a card can contain both a discount product (a paid right to travel for a month or a year at a discount) and a balance.

For journeys by train or metro, the traveller checks in by holding the OV-chipkaart up to a reader on reaching the platform. The checking-in fee is debited. When leaving a station, the passenger checks out by holding the card up to the reader and the checking-in fee is refunded, minus the fare for the journey actually made (where appropriate). There are two types of card reader systems on train and metro stations: free-standing card readers for both checking in and out, and card readers integrated into ticket gates, on one side for checking in, on the other side for checking out. To prevent fare dodging, gates are used in underground and elevated metro stations, where travellers cannot access the platforms without going through the gates. Light rail stations at ground level generally have free-standing card readers, but there are exceptions. For example, ground level station Rotterdam Alexander has gates too, even though there is the potential risk of unsafe situations, where people might bypass them and access the platforms by walking on the rails. With regard to railway stations: 90 out of approximately 300 railway stations in the country have gates, currently all of which are kept permanently open, but expected to close by the end of 2012.

When travelling by tram or bus, travellers check in and out when entering or leaving the vehicle, using card readers located by the doors. Passengers usually board buses and trams by the door nearest to the driver or conductor, who keeps an eye on them checking in. The driver or conductor cannot so easily monitor passengers disembarking. A valid check-out is only possible in the same vehicle, so forgetting that causes loss of the excess portion of the check-in fee. Passengers can dodge part of their fare by checking out too early. For this reason, random fare checks continue to take place.

Upon checking out, the card readers display the amount deducted and the remaining balance. It is not uncommon for the wrong amount to be deducted: a sample of journeys in 2011 which bear a €1.09 fare has resulted in changes of €0.77, €1.53 and €2.37. Passengers who notice these errors can claim a refund via the relevant operator's website, quoting a Dutch bank account number. However experience shows that operators do not necessarily refund overcharges.

Awards

In April 2007, the OV-chipkaart received a Computerworld Honors Program Laureate award.

See also

• List of smart cards
• Oyster card - a similar scheme in London, United Kingdom

External links

• (English) OV-chipkaart.nl
• (English) Translink.nl, Trans Link Systems homepage