VVD, CDA and PVV want to increase the fine for former students who are do not cancel their public transportation pass on time. The parties want students who have not cancelled the pass after one month to pay 300 euros per month instead of the current 194 euros.
In a joint press release with student organisations ISO and LSVb, youth organisation CDJA states that they are not happy with the plan. ‘Blame is now shifted to the student, while the system is still imperfect. That’s reversing the issue’, board member Klaas Valkering says.
About half of students forget to cancel their subscription, according to Valkering. As a result, over 56 million euros in fines was collected in 2014 and 2015. According to CDA, VVD and PVV, 10 per cent of students intentionally fail to cancel their transport pass because it allows them to travel cheaper.
Debate
Last week, the plan to stop this abuse resulted in a fierce debate in the Lower House. ‘It’s lining the state treasury at the expense of students’, said PvdA MP Mohammed Mohandis, according to the AD newspaper. A higher fine also affects the 90 per cent of students who do act in good faith, he feels. According to Rog (CDA) and Duisenberg (VVD), however, students still bear responsibility.
The youth factions of CDJA, ISO and LSVb point out that studies show that students primarily forget to cancel their subscription in time due to a lack of information. ‘The system that’s in place now is faulty. Increasing the fines without decent provision of information is absolutely insane’, LSVb chairman Jarmo Berkhout reacts.
The student organisations admit that fraud is a problem, but they feel that there is a better solution than increasing the fine: automatically cancelling the OV transport pass.
The Lower House will vote on the intended fine increase on Tuesday.