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by AlecSchueler 899 days ago
The Dutch system seems to suit your expectations quite well.

There are a bunch of disparate organisations providing busses, water busses/taxis/ferries, rental bikes and trams, metro lines and trains running on publicly owned infrastructure.

One card allows you to check in to all of them, all over the country. You can get a subscription card for a 40% discount (€10 per month) or you can check in anywhere with contactless payments or anonymous cards for the full price.
2 comments
lstamour 899 days ago
Yes, I agree. It was a joy to use contactless payment in Amsterdam, and like in London with the TfL app, I could check my payments via the OVpay app, take bikes on trains, and they have very frequent regional trains too. Actually, the OV app is better than the TfL app - I needed a VPN to pretend to be in London in order to check my payments on the TfL app, I didn’t need this for the OV app. Both apps had weird rules about when it would be possible to “fix” or add a tap-off if I’d forgotten to, though, but at least they both have that option unlike Paris, France or Ontario’s system.

And the worst for payment has to be Berlin’s system because they absolutely hate credit cards and prefer cash over other traceable payment methods. It’s nice for anonymity but as a tourist who has to present a passport anyway, I would prefer to just tap and not think about it. Plus they don’t have one app, they have three different apps each with unique features. Paris has the same problem, with regional and local apps, plus even third-party apps that you can buy tickets from.

Transit… some places you have to be a local to understand it and put up with it. Everyone else, at least there’s Uber most places now. Don’t even get me started on paying to use bathrooms by credit card (actually cash only) at a major train station in Brussels.

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ExoticPearTree 899 days ago
From experience, I think the OV-chipkaart was the best option traveling the Netherlands. You would just to remember to check-out at the end of your journey so you wouldn't be charged end-to-end pricing. And the fact that you would pay only for the portion used in a trip (there was a few eurocents difference if you took the tram two stops or three stops, same for buses) it also made a lot of economic sense versus the all you can eat model everyone else employs.

Second best from recent years I like the new system in the NYC subway: tap & go, same price as a MetroCard without the hassle of buying one.

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