Public Transport

Public Transport



Public Transport

Introduction

Amsterdam is easy to walk around, with most major sites located in or near the city centre. Public transportation is of a high quality and driving is discouraged within the canal ring. GVB is the public transport company of Amsterdam and provides an integrated metro, tram and bus service. You can purchase passes at the GVB tickets and information offices located at all major train stations that last for twenty-four, forty-eight and seventy-two hours and offer unlimited travel on trams, buses, metros and night buses. Twenty-four hour passes can be bought from GVB drivers and conductors, as well as at most major hotels and the VVV Tourist Offices.

Types of Transportation in Amsterdam

There is a national public transport information service you can call on 0900-9292 - you say when and where you want to go, anywhere in the Netherlands, and they tell you how to get there.

By public transit

It is also called OV-chipkaart (Public Transport chip card). Since 3 June 2010, the old 'strippenkaart' system has been abandoned on all forms of public transport in Amsterdam, making the chipkaart the only valid way of travelling in Amsterdam. To travel with a card, one has to check in at the start of the journey and check out at the end by holding the card in front of the card reader. Three types of OV-chipkaart are available:

a personal card on which you can load weekly/monthly/yearly subscriptions

an anonymous card on which you can load money which can be spend on public transport

a disposable card which can be used for a limited number of hours/trips only

The first two types carry a fee of €7.50 for the card itself, and you have to have at least €4 on it to be able to travel. For visitors, the most useful type of travel pass is probably the 24/48/72/96/120/144/168 hour ticket. This allows the holder to travel on an unlimited number of journeys on the tram, metro and (night) bus throughout the validity period of the pass. On a tram, only the 24 hr ticket is available. These passes are also available at tourist offices (located at Schiphol airport and just outside Central Station), AKO bookstores in Schiphol Airport and Central Station, many hotels and GVB Tickets & Info. Day passes are not valid on busses operated by Connexxion and Arriva.

Prices as of Jan 2012: €7.50/24 hours, €12/48 hours, €16/72 hours, €20.50/96 hours, €25/120 hours, €28.50/144 hours and €31/168 hours. If you stay longer in Amsterdam, you can buy discounted weekly or monthly tickets from most post offices or other ticket sale points which are cheaper. GVB tickets are not valid on trains to Schiphol airport. You can use them on buses to Schiphol but it's usually quicker to get there by train. For current information on the Dutch Public Transportation-system ('Openbaar Vervoer' or O.V. in Dutch/NL) check online Openbaar Vervoer (O.V.).

Tram

Public transport within the city is operated by the GVB. The tram (18 lines) is the main form ...