By our economics editors
02 Nov 2023 at 14:47
The NS is scrapping plans to raise train ticket prices during rush hour and lower them at quiet times. NS CEO Wouter Koolmees said this. He sees that there is no support.
The purpose of these plans, often colloquially known as rush hour charges, was to spread travelers more over the day. This way, trains would be less crowded during rush hour. This attracted a lot of criticism, because not everyone can choose when he or she travels by train.
As far as Koolmees is concerned, the rush hour charge has been abolished, he said on Radio 1 on Thursday. Previously, the NS’s new contract stated that the organization must first look at alternatives before making train tickets more expensive during rush hour.
Koolmees says that the NS made a wrong assessment when devising the rush hour tax. “We had devised a system in which 80 percent of the tickets would become cheaper during off-peak hours. To finance this, we came up with the rush hour tax.”
The NS CEO continues to consider the distribution of travelers important, but the NS will no longer try to achieve this through a charge during rush hour. “We have found that there is no support for this.”
As a possible alternative, he can agree with a climate ticket, as stated in the election manifestos of GroenLinks-PvdA and D66. This is a ticket that allows you to travel cheaper outside rush hour, making the train a more sustainable and cheaper means of transport than the car. Costs for this are then paid by the government, not by the rush-hour traveler.
Train ticket more expensive due to inflation and personnel costs
In the radio interview, Koolmees said he understands that people find train tickets expensive. According to him, the price increases are due to inflation and personnel costs. “It is true that train tickets in the Netherlands are relatively expensive,” says Koolmees.
The reason for this is that NS trains are financed entirely from train tickets, while in some other countries the taxpayer makes a contribution.
Image: ANP
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NSEconomy
2023-11-02 13:47:29
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