On 16 Dec, 21:33, Rupert Candy wrote:

On Dec 16, 6:54*pm, Mizter T wrote:

(snip)

I have absolutely no idea how the Dutch system works, as I haven't
been there for a while - is there a 'touch-in/ touch-out' pay-as-you-
go system? If so what happens about unresolved journeys? And is it
also based on the MiFare Classic technology?

I know very little about the technicalities, but like Oyster, the
cards can hold both season tickets and stored value, and there is a
'touch in and touch out' regime on all modes of transport (including
bus and tram - validators on either side of each set of doors).
Interestingly, if you don't want to store long-term season tickets,
you can opt for an 'anonymous' version of the card which just holds
stored value and is completely transferable - I suppose the equivalent
of an unregistered Oyster, but presented as an explicit choice.

Thanks for the info. Interesting to note the touch-in and touch-out
requirement on buses and trams - we had an interesting discussion
about that back in January on utl, with a great and very comprehensive
contribution from Paul Corfield who was right in the middle of the
development of Oyster (the thread title is "Oyster PAYG and
differential bus fares" should anyone wish to goggle).

Regarding unregistered Oyster cards - there has been some more recent
TfL publicity for Oyster (including posters) that have specifically
mentioned the fact that "You don't need to register" in order to get a
card. I dare say this has been in response to market research which
flagged registration up as an issue with some people. Also it's not
just PAYG that's available on unregistered Oyster cards - weekly
Travelcards and bus passes are possible too.


One thing that threw me back in October (when the Metro-only trial was
still running) was the lack of signs on the card vending machines at
stations. The only way I discovered my mistake was when I tried to
touch in on a tram. I got a green light, but the 'guard' in the little
booth wasn't having any of it...

Ha! I seem to recall stories of the early days of Oyster PAYG when it
was only officially available for use on the Underground, where people
tried it anyway on buses that had readers and were charged fares of 1p
or some such!


http://www.ov-chipkaart.nl/hoe/has lots of information if anyone's
interested (English version available, natuurlijk)


Thanks, I'll take a look into that.