The OV Payment programme launched by the NOVB (National Public Transport Council, of which NS is a member) was set up to increase ease of payment and add payment options for public transport passengers. In future, passengers will be able to pay their fares using their bank cards, credit cards, mobile phones, smartwatches or other items as well as the regular OV-chipkaart (public transport smart card). A trial involving payment by smart card was conducted on the The Hague - Leiden route from January through to July 2019. Contactless payment technology enabled passengers to check in and out using their bank cards or credit cards. The costs of the journey were debited automatically at the end of each day. Around 300 passengers made a total of approximately 2,000 journeys using their smart cards. Of the trial group, 90% said that ‘travelling using a smart card' offers additional convenience, 75% said that smart cards offer benefits compared with the regular OV-chipkaart and nearly 70% said that using a smart card lowers the threshold for choosing public transport. We also learned a great deal from the trial in the technical domain. For example, we will have to increase passenger flow rates at the check-in and check-out gates and posts, and improve on-board inspections and the processing of travel data to give passengers real-time insight into their journeys and the associated fares.
NS has launched an initiative to simplify the travel process for passengers using an NS Business Card. This has already resulted in improvements to the NS App, including a tool that allows passengers to change the class in which they are travelling. They can now do so online up to fifteen minutes after checking in.