5 ms·

In Holland it's much worse. You aren't allowed to use public transport unless you have minimal 20 EUR balance on your card (or agree to be tracked and I assume

In Holland it's much worse. You aren't allowed to use public transport unless you have minimal 20 EUR balance on your card (or agree to be tracked and I assume have your travel data sold / 'lost'). This applies for return journeys, so after the first leg of the journey you need to make sure there's 20 EUR left or you're screwed.

thisjepisje 12y ago
If you don't want to use your card any more you can get the money back, though. Minus a 2,50 administration fee, of course.
- radicalbyte 12y ago
  Can I get the 7.50 I was forced to pay for the card back too?
  - thisjepisje 12y ago
    Don't think so.
bumeye 12y ago
That's only for trains. For bus/metro/tram you only need 4 EUR on your card. See https://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/reizen/tarieven/instapenbasistarief/ https://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/reizen/tarieven/instapenbasistar....
chiph 12y ago
Other than the obvious money-grab by the authority (1 million cards x 20 EUR x 1% / 12 months == 16666 EUR income each month), what's the reasoning behind this? Only financially solvent individuals can use public transport?
- yackob03 12y ago
  I'm assuming they have variable pricing based on distance traveled, and 20 EUR covers the highest fare for the system. That could just be my optimistic bias speaking though.
- jrockway 12y ago
  It probably deducts the max fare when you tap on, and then refunds the difference when you tap off. The max fare must be 20 EUR. Caltrain works like this too, though the card will go $5 negative, so you need max fare - $5 on the card at all times.
- phlo 12y ago
  > what's the reasoning behind this? Fair, per-kilometer pricing. Quoting from the english version of the page linked above[0]: When you travel on credit, a boarding fare will be debited from your card when you check in. When you check out, the boarding fare will be refunded and you will be charged for the number of kilometres you travelled. If you do not check out, you will pay the full boarding fare. Not everything that looks like a blatant money grab is one. Hanlon's Razor[1] prevails once again. [0] https://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/reizen/tarieven/instapenbasistarief/?taal=en https://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/reizen/tarieven/instapenbasistar... [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon's_razor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon's_razor

thisjepisje 12y ago

If you don't want to use your card any more you can get the money back, though. Minus a 2,50 administration fee, of course.

radicalbyte 12y ago
Can I get the 7.50 I was forced to pay for the card back too?
- thisjepisje 12y ago
  Don't think so.

bumeye 12y ago

That's only for trains. For bus/metro/tram you only need 4 EUR on your card. See https://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/reizen/tarieven/instapenbasistarief/ https://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/reizen/tarieven/instapenbasistar....

chiph 12y ago

Other than the obvious money-grab by the authority (1 million cards x 20 EUR x 1% / 12 months == 16666 EUR income each month), what's the reasoning behind this? Only financially solvent individuals can use public transport?

yackob03 12y ago
I'm assuming they have variable pricing based on distance traveled, and 20 EUR covers the highest fare for the system. That could just be my optimistic bias speaking though.
jrockway 12y ago
It probably deducts the max fare when you tap on, and then refunds the difference when you tap off. The max fare must be 20 EUR. Caltrain works like this too, though the card will go $5 negative, so you need max fare - $5 on the card at all times.
phlo 12y ago
> what's the reasoning behind this? Fair, per-kilometer pricing. Quoting from the english version of the page linked above[0]: When you travel on credit, a boarding fare will be debited from your card when you check in. When you check out, the boarding fare will be refunded and you will be charged for the number of kilometres you travelled. If you do not check out, you will pay the full boarding fare. Not everything that looks like a blatant money grab is one. Hanlon's Razor[1] prevails once again. [0] https://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/reizen/tarieven/instapenbasistarief/?taal=en https://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/reizen/tarieven/instapenbasistar... [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon's_razor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanlon's_razor