Dialogue with our stakeholders

NS is a service-providing company that performs a social role at the very heart of society. There is a great deal of interest in our organisation among the general public and elsewhere – passengers, media, politicians and other stakeholders. The ongoing dialogue with our stakeholders is crucial for us.

Our stakeholders

Our stakeholders are the people or groups who are affected by our actions and who, in turn, influence our organisation and services. NS is continuously monitoring who its stakeholders are. The nature of our contacts with stakeholders is determined in some cases by legislation (government ministries and regulatory authorities), in some cases by collaboration in the transport sector (carriers, ProRail) and in other cases by the public nature of our service (passengers, the media and interest groups). There can also be stakeholders who are on the scene temporarily for specific subjects – their input can be relevant and we take it seriously. We organise sessions with stakeholders on specific themes or promote a broad stakeholder dialogue on the course of NS. Such sessions were also held in 2019.

Stakeholder management

Our main stakeholders are organisations representing passengers and consumers, ProRail, provincial authorities, municipal authorities, franchise authorities, the shareholder, our employees, trade unions, other carriers, politicians, employee participation bodies, suppliers, NGOs and interest groups within society. We involve them closely and (increasingly often) as early as possible when choices have to be made that affect passengers. We test ideas and listen to suggestions and criticism so that we can improve the course of the company, our services and our products. As a result, we pick up external signs early on that we can then use in our considerations and decisions. The dialogues with our stakeholders take place at various levels within the organisation, with the Executive Board often being involved. This enables us to build up trust.

Working visits by stakeholders

In 2019 as in previous years, we organised a number of visits, both on request and on invitation, in which we informed stakeholders about our activities and let them experience all that goes on in our round-the-clock transport company. Members of the Lower House of Dutch Parliament visited new stations, for instance to see for themselves how the waste sorting and recycling processes work in practice. Political party representatives had a look behind the scenes at NS Opleidingen in Amersfoort and got a taste of the training programmes our Safety & Service teams complete to de-escalate aggressive behaviour in public transport. In March 2019, Minister for the Environment and Housing Van Veldhoven visited NS within the context of International Women's Day. On 8 October 2019, Finance Minister Hoekstra made a working visit to the new bicycle parking facility and Utrecht CS. Through these working visits, policy makers and politicians get to know our company in all its facets and increase their understanding of the various issues and solutions. That improves their ability to arrive at a balanced assessment of matters.

Frequent consultation

ProRail, Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management and LOCOV

NS holds frequently consults with ProRail and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management about topics such as joint projects, services and performance. In the national public transport users' forum LOCOV, NS consults with broadly represented passengers’ and consumers’ organisations. This statutory forum holds formal meetings and handles requests for advice on issues relevant to passengers.
 We also organise informal themed sessions and working visits to provide information and consult the members. Recommendations made by consumer organisations represented in LOCOV regularly result in us adjusting a decision. We consult participating organisations such as passengers' association ROVER, Ieder(in), the Dutch Cyclists’ Union, the KBO union of senior citizens' organisations and ANWB (the Dutch automobile association) on topics that have a longer-term impact, such as the purchase of new rolling stock, changes to the timetable, accessibility and withdrawals from service.

In 2019, NS and the consumer organisations held extensive discussions about modifications to the range of season tickets available at NS. They also discussed adaptations to the timetable in the event of adverse weather conditions. In response to an investigation requested by ROVER, more flexibility is ensured in the implementation of regional adaptations to the timetable. Another important point for discussion within LOCOV were the works conducted in Leiden. After completion of those works, we sat down with the consumer organisations to review the process and share the lessons learned.

NS and ProRail organised station visits, as in previous years, which help us see our stations through the eyes of the passenger. We look at the concourse, the platforms and the journey information. Every visit reveals valuable points for attention, for example concerning the ideal location for journey information or tactile guidance lines.

Collaboration in the transport sector

We work with partners in the transport sector, such as other carriers and ProRail, to ensure the optimum journey for our passengers from door to door. That collaboration features prominently at all levels of our organisation, in terms of strategy as well as operations, and with an eye on the long-term vision that we drew up in the Mobility Alliance with a view to improving and optimising mobility within the Netherlands. Our intensive collaboration with sector partners is also improving customer satisfaction thanks to better operational statistics for aspects such as punctuality and the quality of connections, and to improvements in the journey to and from the station.
An important theme during 2018 and 2019 was the development of our strategy for the period up to 2025: ‘Keeping the Netherlands accessible in a sustainable manner - for everyone.’ In that strategy, we stress the relevance of collaboration. The process of developing the strategy involved us talking in 2018 and 2019 with over 70 external stakeholders about NS’s role in the future of mobility in the Netherlands. This also covers our collaboration with KLM, and opportunities to use international trains rather than aeroplanes for relatively short distances. This concerns, for example, the routes to Berlin, London and Brussels.

Mobility Alliance

NS, ANWB, RAI (the association for manufacturers and importers of vehicles), Transport and Logistics Netherlands and other parties in the mobility sector have joined forces since 2016 in the Mobility Alliance, which aims to keep the Netherlands moving. This permanent collaboration was prompted by a shared sense of urgency because the Netherlands is becoming overly congested, as well as by a realisation that there are opportunities to make mobility in the Netherlands cleaner, smarter and safer. The Mobility Alliance now includes 25 bicycle, car, transport, public transport and business passenger organisations and its original vision has been formulated in more detail. In June 2019, the alliance presented the Mobility Delta Plan to Minister for the Environment and Housing Van Veldhoven and Minister of Infrastructure and Water Management Van Nieuwenhuizen. The plan, which addresses mobility in an integrated fashion, presents solution strategies that will help to keep the Netherlands accessible over the period up to 2030, despite continuing growth in road traffic and public transport. It also includes an investment agenda in support of this effort. One crucial element in the Mobility Delta Plan is freedom of choice and flexibility in travel behaviour, which is being tested in pilots with 'paying for usage' systems.

Vision for the future of public transport up to 2040

If congestion in the Netherlands is to remain manageable, ProRail, passengers' organisations and other stakeholders will have to continue their mutual dialogue. This is why NS also took part this year in elaborating the ‘Toekomstbeeld OV 2040’ (Vision for the Future of Public Transport up to 2040). In 2019, the participants jointly finalised the contours of this vision and started formulating the details of its implementation. NS is making a major contribution to the details of the network and hubs, and is discussing potential solutions and dilemmas in this regard from a regional, national and international perspective. As regards 2020, it is important for us to jointly formulate a development agenda that includes decision-making details for investments in the Multi-annual Programme for Infrastructure, Space and Transport (MIRT) and the Mobility Fund (which has succeeded the Infrastructure Fund).

A focus on regions

NS serves all parts of the Netherlands: both densely populated and sparsely populated areas, the Randstad conurbation and rural regions, and all twelve provinces. Following the provincial elections in 2019, our contacts with mobility and spatial policy administrators in the provincial executives have focused on getting to know one another and sharing plans and wishes. The actual talks are about the development of the timetable and the railway / public transport infrastructure, and about the role of the railways in accessibility and mobility issues. Other topics that attract a great deal of attention and interest are hub development, the funding of public transport, international railway connections and a better spread of passengers during peak times. Administrators are facing huge tasks and complex challenges, not least the nitrogen crisis, and are aware of NS's capacity to contribute to solving these issues. Hence, NS is keen to intensify its collaboration with provincial and regional authorities through the joint development of plans and implementation of measures.

Dilemmas in the discussions

NS shares the dilemmas it is facing with stakeholders in good time, so that they have a better understanding of policy considerations and joint solutions can be found. We provide our stakeholders with a steady stream of feedback about their ideas and recommendations and the effect that the dialogue has had on NS policy, both in regular discussions and thematic sessions and in reports. Examples include adaptations to our product portfolio or in compiling new timetables. The aim is that passengers overall should benefit from this, although there will inevitably be passengers for whom any given choice has an adverse effect. We talk to consumer organisations about these dilemmas.

Consultations with the trade unions

NS attaches great importance to good relations with the trade unions. In 2019, the discussions mainly concerned implementation of the agreements in the 2017-2020 collective labour agreement and the resulting HR policy. For example, NS and the unions discussed the implementation of the social plan, sickness absence and sustainable employment.