Residents across all three northern provinces can get a public transportation card, an OV chip card, for a steep discount in the coming weeks.
Translation by Traci White
UPDATE: Thursday, 10:49 a.m., 17 January
As pointed out by one of our readers, there are more off-peak hours for Arriva and Qbuzz than the general NS service. All weekends and holidays are off-peak, and on busses, peak hours are between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. On trains, off-peak hours are before 6:30 a.m. and after 9 a.m.
Original story follows below:
Between 14 January and 10 February, people living in Friesland, Drenthe and Groningen can buy an OV (openbaar vervoer; public transportation) card for 2.50 euros instead of 7.50 euros.
Groningen provincial representative Fleur Gräper (D66) kicked off the campaign at the Groningen Central Station on Monday morning, and told RTV Noord that the “OV Toppertje” was meant to make it easier for people to start using public transportation. “Some people see buying the card in the first place as an obstacle, so we want to lower the threshold for them.”
Dagblad van her Noorden reports that for an additional ten euros, the card also makes travellers eligible to add a discount subscription exclusively for northern residents (Dalvoordeel Noord-Nederland), which is a 40 percent discount on all Arriva and Qbuzz trains and busses in the region outside of the morning and evening rush hour (before 6:30 a.m. and after 9 a.m. – for busses, that is before 7 a.m. and after 9 a.m.)
The campaign also coincides with efforts by bus lines operating in the north transitioning away from cash payment.
Photo source: ovtoppertje.nl
The discounts times according to the Arriva an Qbuzz site are all weekend and workdays before 06:30 and after 09:00. There is NO evening slot ( as there is with NS discount fares) which makes this discount so much more attractive!