Things you can do with the OV-chipkaart App
Dutch public transportation companies have implemented a simplified ticketing and payment system via the official OV-chipkaart application. The system is continuously updated to render it more user-friendly.
People traveling via public transport in the Netherlands can pay using the OV-chipkaart, an application that enables anyone to have a clear and safe picture of their travel history with a detailed transaction overview that includes check-in and check-out times, dates, prices and locations. The public transport prices and transaction overview can go up to 18 months back, and it is close to real time (any updates in your transaction list usually appear the following day).
How the card works?
The OV-chipkaart app can be used for both personal and anonymous (or disposable) cards allowing you to view your credit, subscriptions, card expiration date and other details. It also helps you to quickly find the address of service points close by. There you can purchase your card.
You need to create an account online and add your card to it; you can choose either a personal or an anonymous card, but you must make sure it is loaded before embarking on any public transportation means. The system works two ways: you can either load Euro (your credit) onto the card or add a season ticket, a day ticket, or a monthly pass; money and tickets can be added at specific devices or counters that you can find using the app.
You must check in once your journey starts, and check out when it ends. To do this, simply go to a card reader or a gate with the OV-chipkaart logo and hold the card against the screen. At the beginning of your journey, the card reader will make audio-visual signals that you can enter or the gate will open. Once the journey has ended, the screen will display how much it cost, and how that reflects in the balance of your card.
OV-chipkaart pros and cons
At only 2.6M the application does not take up much of your Android space. You can reload your card automatically or you can order credit online. Age discounts apply both to children and to senior citizens. 4+ year old children need a personal card for which they will get a discount, while 65+ year old people can get a deduction if they own a personal card and travel on credit; in this case, the discount is applied automatically whenever they check out. Note that no discount applies to anonymous cards since the system does not know your age.
If you forgot to check-out the card enables you to get your credit back from the public transport company you traveled with. Similarly, if your card is about to expire and you renew it, you are entitled to claim your remaining credit back.
One major drawback is that the app may ask you to log in every time you need to view your history and some users have reported it does not work with anonymous cards. However most users find this app to be good are continuously improved.
