Nederland: OV-fiets

OV-fiets : Fast and easy rental bikes in combination with Public Transport


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OV-fiets (Public Transport Bicycle) is a fast growing Bike Sharing program in the Netherlands. It is a unique supplement to public transport. It is available at almost all important train stations (180 stations). It is very easy to pick-up a bicycle from automatic dispensers or from a staffed rental location. Bicycles are always accessible at least during public transport operation hours, and in many places 24 hours a day 7 days a week. The Bike Sharing program leads to better accessibility of city centres during peak-hour by reducing car use and parking problems. It thereby also reduces negative environmental effects. And last but not least: riding a bicycle is not only healthy for the environment, it is also good for personal health. The widespread availability of the OV-fiets makes it successful.

Biking in Holland

Travelling by bike is traditionally very popular in the Netherlands. 27 % of all trips are made by bike (in comparison: in the USA and Australia this is 1 % of all trips) [Pucher eo].
  • Biking is more than fun: It is practical to get around
  • Biking is perceived  as save
  • Helmets are not compulsory
  • Lacking of good transport after the train trip is often a reason to go by car
  • Almost everybody is able to bike

Almost 40% of the train passengers travel by bike to the station. However, less than 10% uses the bike to reach their destination after the train ride – mainly because there is no bike available at the destination.

Key characteristics OV-fiets

  • Easy to start:  even with 5 bikes in one shop you can start
  • Easy to grow:  scaleble upto one milion customers
  • Easy to run:  Simple system with low costs
  • Freedom:  No package deal with advertisements / bus shelters

Key elements

  • Bike-shops near stations
  • Chipcards (existing one)‏
  • Scanners (or barcode readers)‏
  • Back-office (for registration and payment)
  • Bikes ....

The future: working on 4th generation Bike Sharing

In the Netherlands we work on a 4th generation Bike Sharing system, for more info see global solutions

More info regarding the pilot OV-fiets @ Home (in English)
More info regarding the 4th generation Bike Sharing (in Dutch)