Higher OV fine for former students

Former students who forget to terminate their OV pass will soon be paying substantially more. In spite of protests, the fine will be increased.
By Peter Keizer / Translation by Sarah van Steenderen

Anyone who forgot to cancel their subscription already had to pay quite a lot: 97 euros for every two weeks. In January 2018, that will increase to 150 euros. The Lower House voted in favour of the increase on Tuesday.

Student organisations ISO and LSVb are not happy with the decision. ‘It’s a disproportional measure that victimises students’, they say. ‘The best solution would be to automatically cancel the pass. It’s inconceivable that no one can come up with a system where the turnstiles simply remain closed when people are using their passes illegally. Why do they always have to fine students?’ LSVb president Jarmo Berkhout says.

Fare dodgers

The plan to increase the fine was proposed by the CDA and the VVD. Both parties feel it is the responsibility of the ‘highly educated’ students to cancel their travel pass. Research done by ResearchNed shows that approximately one in ten former students do not cancel their pass on purpose to be able to continue travelling cheaply. CDA and VVD want those fare dodgers to be punished more harshly.

The student organisations do not agree. ‘They’re using an axe when they should be using a scalpel. Of course we have to go after students who are being deliberately fraudulent. But fining students who accidentally forget is not something we want’, ISO president Jan Sinnige says.

Forgetting

Approximately half the students forget to cancel the pass, often because they think the pass will be cancelled automatically. The Lower House will meet those students halfway: in the first month the pass has not been cancelled, the fine will actually be lowered somewhat to 75 euros for two weeks. After that, it will go back up to 150 euros per two weeks.

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