OV-fiets

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OV-fiets

The OV-fiets ( German  " ÖV -Fahrrad" ) is a bike rental system in the Netherlands , which is operated by the railway company Nederlandse Spoorwegen . Rental bicycles are available at Nederlandse Spoorwegen train stations as well as RandstadRail and Rotterdam Metro stations nationwide.

history

The OV-fiets started in 2003 as a project of the independent foundation Stichting OV-fiets . In January 2008 it was taken over by the Nederlandse Spoorwegen . Since then, the number of bicycles and users has grown rapidly. In the same year, six electric scooters were rented out at two train stations in The Hague . From 2009, 40 scooters could be rented at ten train stations, and from 2011 100 pedelecs could also be rented at ten stations. Plans to also offer Segways were abandoned in 2011. Due to low demand and high operating costs, the Nederlandse Spoorwegen withdrew the electric vehicles from the range in 2014. Users had u. a. the lack of availability of the e-vehicles and the insufficient top speed of the e-scooters complained. Since 2017, the previous annual subscription fee of ten euros is no longer charged. To compensate, the daily rental fee increased from € 3.35 to € 3.85.

functionality

The prerequisite for registering a private OV-fiets subscription is either a personal OV-chipkaart , an NS-Flex registration or a Utrecht Region Pass . When borrowing and returning the OV-fiets, the subscriber identifies himself with the chip of his OV-chipkaart. For each commenced 24-hour period until the bike is returned, an amount of € 3.85 will be charged (as of 2019) and debited monthly from the bank account or credit card. The return must be made after 72 hours at the latest. If this does not happen, NS will charge € 8.85 for each additional day (up to a maximum of 21 days). Returning the bike to another bike station (one way) costs an extra charge of € 10.00. A customer can rent two bikes at the same time. An OV-fiets subscription can also be taken out with a German bank account. A check amount of one cent is debited annually.

Business use of the OV-fiets is possible with an NS Business Card.

Locations

Covered bicycle station at Duiven train station
Bicycle boxes for OV fiets

OV-fietsen can (as of 2018) be rented at around 300 locations in the Netherlands, most of which can be found at train stations and underground stations. In big cities like Utrecht with an affinity for bicycles, bicycle stations were also used for B. at P + R car parks or in commercial areas. There are 17 locations for the OV-fiets in Utrecht alone. Different types of bicycle stations can be distinguished according to equipment and size :

  • guarded OV bicycle station
  • guarded SB -OV bicycle station
  • OV bicycle safe
  • OV bicycle carousel
  • OV bike box
  • OV bike point

development

The OV-fiets has become an increasingly popular means of transport for the Dutch over the years. In 2017, the 500,000 subscribers used the 14,500 bicycles available for around 3.2 million trips.

OV-fietsen in the Netherlands
year Locations Cycles Subscribers Rides
2004 70 800 11,000 100,000
2005 84 1300 20,000 189,000
2006 101 2500 30,000 250,000
2007 140 3000 43,000 335,000
2008 182 51,000 500,000
2009 200 4500 67,000 700,000
2010 220 5000 85,000 800,000
2011 230 6000 100,000 1,000,000
2012 240 140,000 1,200,000
2013 250 160,000 1,400,000
2014 260 8500 180,000 1,500,000
2015 277 177,000 1,900,000
2016 290 200,000 2,400,000
2017 300 14,500 500,000 3,100,000
2018 300 20,500 700,000 4,200,000

criticism

With every success there is also criticism. Users complain that no reservation is possible, so that in the worst case, no rental bike is available when the bike station is reached. The equipment of the OV-fietsen is also criticized because of the lack of gears and the missing handbrake. The inability to bill via the OV-chipkaart is incomprehensible, as this card is used to set up the OV-fiets subscription.

vehicles

The bicycles used as OV-fiets are custom-made by the Dutch supplier Bikes2Go , which are optimized for robustness in order to minimize maintenance, damage from vandalism and theft of parts. The pneumatic tires are puncture-proof, the headlight is integrated into the aluminum frame, and a hub dynamo supplies electricity. In the absence of two independent brakes (only coaster brake, no handbrake), OV-fiets would not be permitted in Germany. Without taking the local topography into account, only bicycles without gears are available. A frame shape without a cross bar in one size must fit all users. The saddle can be easily adjusted in height. Older bikes were retreaded after four years to emphasize the sustainability of the concept.

  • OV-fiets models

  • First model

  • Second model

  • Model 2008 to 2016

  • E-scooter (2008 to 2014)

  • E-bike (2009 to 2014)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Marcia Nieuwenhuis: Recordaantal ritten met OV-fiets: 3.2 miljoen. In: AD . De Persgroep Nederland , January 5, 2018, accessed February 17, 2019 (Dutch).
  2. ↑ Beëindiging Verhuur van NS scooters and electrical OV fietsen. In: Nieuwsbrief NS Zakelijk februari 2015. February 2015, accessed on April 21, 2019 (Dutch).
  3. ↑ Marc Maartens: NS stops met electric fiets en scooter. In: OV-Magazine. April 30, 2015, accessed February 17, 2019 (Dutch).
  4. ^ NS Flex , Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch, English)
  5. ↑ Utrecht Region Pass , Tripkey (English, Dutch)
  6. ↑ OV-fiets , Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch, English)
  7. ↑ Productvoorwaarden van de OV-fiets , Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch), (PDF format, approx. 768 kB)
  8. ↑ OV-fiets tarieven 2017 , Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch), (PDF format, approx. 318 kB)
  9. ↑ NS-Business Card , Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch)
  10. ↑ 20,500 OV-fietsen and 2018. In: tweewieler.nl. Vakmedianet, October 16, 2018, accessed February 17, 2019 (Dutch).
  11. ↑ Huurlocaties OV-fiets Utrecht , Nederlandse Spoorwegen (Dutch)
  12. ↑ Zo werkt de OV-fiets. In: ns.nl. Nederlandse Spoorwegen, accessed February 17, 2019 (Dutch, English).
  13. ↑ ( Page no longer available , search in web archives: Jaarverslag OV-fiets 2007 )@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.mijn-ov.nl
  14. ↑ OV-fiets 10 jaar bij NS… .. Thanks je wel klanten! In: nieuws.ns.nl. Nederlandse Spoorwegen, April 13, 2018, accessed on February 17, 2019 (Dutch).
  15. ↑ Onderzoek: Hoe bevalt de OV-fiets? , Fietsersbond (Dutch)

Web links

Commons : OV-fiets  - collection of images, videos and audio files