On the OV-Chipkaart
Attention conservation notice: this first post will only be of interest to expats in the Netherlands, as it relates to an issue with the new electronic payment system being implemented here called OV-Chipkaart. I’m addressing this issue as it directly effects me, traveling to work as I do on the train three days per week. Also In the spirit of blogging, it warrants a good rant. As a concept, an electronic payment system is a worthwhile endeavor, obviously more efficient without the overhead of ticket purchase every morning. I have seen it work spectacularly well in Taipei with the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system. The reason it works so well is simple: the design of all the MRT stations is such that you cannot exit without going through a barrier and swiping your electronic ticket (i.e. “checking-out”). The OV-Chipkaart is being implmeneted here at the same time as the regular ticket system. Regular tickets do not need to be “swiped” before entering the station, you just go to the platform, where as the OV-Chipkaart needs to be passed in front of the sensor, to debit your card for the journey. Since you are not forced to exit through a barrier, then it is possible to exit the station without checking-out (forgetting), and this is a problem because the system charges you the maximum fare, until you check out. Now on a bus here in the Netherlands that may only be 1-2 Euro, but on the train the upfront maximum charge is 10 Eur. Ouch.
No if you are a technology enthusiast like me, then this system seems very appealing, no need to buy tickets, and if you are conscientious then you’ll always remember to check-out, or so I thought. The check-out problem has bitten me twice in the last week after having used the card now for a few months. It would be entertaining to describe the convoluted procedures to actually get and activate an OV-Chipkaart for use on the trains, but many of the usability flaws of the system have already been documented at length here. I will just related briefly the two instances where I failed to check-out. The first was on the way to Schipol airport. This one is self-evident, in a rush to get to my plane, I forgot to check-out (station design issue). The thing is, I only remembered this as we were leveling-off at cruising altitude, what to do ? The second instance, where I simply forgot to check-out after arriving home from work seemed simpler: go back to the station later and check out, however even this turned out to be a debacle. Going back to the station I swiped my card, and recieved the message that I had just checked in again. Excuse me, I thought that would check-me out ? Apparently when you swipe the care on the entry facing side of the electronic sensor, you can check-in again. In other works it is possible to have two open journeys on the card at the same time. I was able to check-out from this second open journey by swiping the card again, but was unable to check-out from my first open journey. Bang: 10 Euro charge with no way of recovering it. The only way to get that 10 Euro back is to email the nameless customer service of NS (Dutch public rail) and ask them to refund you, the people at the local station ticket counters will not do it (or cannot). Put simply, the burden is placed on the user of the OV-Chipkaart system not on NS or any of the other operators and this is wrong. I am an enthusiastic early adopter of technology, I want the system to work, at a bare minimum allow the staff at the NS ticket counters to use their own discretion when dealing with these kinds of refunds. There has been ongoing protests against the system by the locals here, more can be found a this website (no sure what the political affiliations are, but they have a complaints forum set up for the OV-Chipkaart).
The check-out problem is one of many issues that the system has, others include fare pricing, privacy issues, and security. Apparently it is easy enough to hack the cards, meaning there is the possibility of large scale fraud. Finally, the cards can also be used to open local garbage bins. The fact that the Dutch have garbage bins that are opened with electronic cards is another mater entirely.
Thank you for this interesting and informative post, Greg.
The check out issue charge happened me as well, but for me the charge was of 20€ instead of 10€ (what a rip off).
I would like to ask you about the NS customer service e-mail you mention on the post to ask for the refund too.
Keep up the good work.
Congratulations on being the first ever commenter on my blog, now I’ll have update it regularly, damn. So I never did write an email to request the 10 € back, I’ve been meaning to do it ever since that post. I’ve forgotten my password to the online system, and I haven’t been able to get it to send me a new one. So to get the list of transactions I’ll need to call customer service anyway.
It doesn’t end there. I’m currently back to paper tickets because my yearly discount ran out. I filled out the form to renew it but the system strikes again. Once you renew at the counter, you have to wait for them to send you another verification letter, after which you will then have the discount applied to your electronic ticket. Or something like that. I’m still waiting for the letter. I’ll update when I have any new insights into this torturous process.
Wait until you have a chipkaart fail. At that point you must mail them a letter with your bank information and the card. They will then send you a reply informing you that your card doesn’t work, and that the amount on your card less a €2.50 “Administrative Fee” has been refunded to your bank account. So in typical Dutch fashion they have just charged you money because their product was defective and left you forced to buy another chipkaart.
Even more infuriating, thankfully that hasn’t happened to me. I have had two Dutch ATM cards fail since I’ve been living here. These cards also have Chipknip, so I lost money there as well. In theory you can get it back by filling in a form at the bank. I did this but never received a response from the ‘central processing’ facility.
But back to the chipkaart. I really do want to see this system work, but I can’t help feel from being a user of the system that those responsible for it, didn’t think it through in the planning stages. I have seen similar systems work fine in other parts of the world for both metro, train and bus. I will attempt to be more tolerant, early days maybe
Guys I think like you that this ov is a big con…….I bought my anonymous card used it 1 time and it died. Went back to the station (NS) where I had bought it and was told it’s a problem for OV customer service to deal with, contacted them and after a few emails back and forth the result is that I have to go out and buy another one….
To be honest OV main aim is to milk money from all angles- just a big money making machine and on this hard times – shame maybe it’s time people stand up for their rights.