Nice video as usual, very handy to show my parents how life in NL is, these kind of videos are exactly what people do not see or can't imagine, after living in The Netherlands for 20 years, when telling them how things work, they don't get it or don't understand, but visually is another story. Cheers. (I am Argentinian btw. and they are having an incredible boom with bicycles over there, but they do not have the infrastructure yet, it is like they just started and it is like 1975 NL now over there) ;)
Nice. This is clearly not the slickest OV-fiets facility, ja? Perhaps show this again at one of those stations with the bicycle parking directly below the platforms and at a large station when it's busy, and also what the biz-tourists do as an option (like people from nearby countries who frequently come to do business in the country...)
Hey, this is the best train station in the Netherlands ofcourse. ;) (Culemborg is my hometown) There are plans for expansion of the building and surroundings, the trainstation is actually quite busy for its size. You are invited to take a train here and enjoy the pleasant old city center :)
The OV fiets is meant for people that live in the country, it's not possible (or at the very least, extremely impractical) for a tourist to be able to rent a OV fiets, because in order to rent a OV fiets you need to have a OV "subscription" and you are only able to link those with a Dutch bank account and Dutch address. There are other companies that offer rental of bikes to tourists (and locals, but they don't really need to make use of those)
@@RCAVDH No, it has to be a personal ov card. And even though there's no longer a subscription fee, you probably still have to add it to your account/card through one of the machines. I don't think that it just automatically happens when you get a personal card.
Check this out: it seems that the Utrecht Region Pass may allow you to bypass the local-only system. Looking at their FAQ, it seems to be valid for OV-fiets rentals nation-wide, not only in Utrecht. utrechtregionpass.com/ov-fiets-public-transport-bicycle/
@@Arjay404 That seems to be a huge missed opportunity... Bike Share schemes in Europe and North America don't require some pass, you just make an account and buy a plan.
When problems arise that this excellent system will not handle, how can you contact a human for assistance? I know, from 50 years experience developing computer systems, that no system can handle everything, no matter how comprehensive. Excellent video!
@@martijnvv8031 We recently had the 50th anniversary of the moon landings, Apollo 11 used a computer, maybe you think those were faked as well. Digital computers have been around since WW2. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer#History
All that is needed now is a system that allows tourists or business visitors NOT from Netherlands or adjoining countries to use them. The system is linked to a chip card that can only be bought by Dutch residents, or those residents in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany (I think). Others can only buy "anonieme chipkaart" that cannot be used to hire an OV-Fiets. You can still top up an anonieme kaart using a credit card, but I guess the reasoning is that visitors from outside the adjacent countries are not likely to be "border workers" or that tourists might pre-empt fietsen needed by people who need them for serious purposes. Arguably, if NS receives subsidies from the state this is all logical, but disappointing for visitors. I appreciate that Amsterdam and Utrecht etc., have other huurfiets places that outside visitors CAN use, but surely this will not be the case everywhere, and perhaps the OV-fiets system takes away some of their regular business, too. Here in UK, facilities for cycling are almost non existent, certainly far worse than the Netherlands in the 1960s, and visitors to popular tourist destinations outside London will struggle to find bikes for hire at all, or near a station! I am envious. Very envious...
The OV-fiets is really a good invention my only problem with it is that it’s kind of rare to find. There are only 15-ish stations in Amsterdam which comparing it to other big cities in the world is really low. If not the whole Netherlands at least the big cities (Amsterdam, Utrecht) should have a bigger city float of bikes operated by OV-fiets and NS.
The nice thing about the OV-fiets is that ALL the train stations have them. So it is fast and easy to reach your destination if you travel by train. The system isn't really designed for trips within the city because everybody who lives there already has their own bike.
But the problem with the business model is that it's based on round trips to and from the same station, which means that each bicycle is sitting unused for long periods of time while the person does whatever they went to do. It's not that there's a shortage of OV Fietsen, it's that the fietsen are not being used efficiently. Take for example my commute starting this September. I take the train to Delft, pick up an OV Fiets and cycle to school and leave the bike parked all day on campus, then I bike back to the station in the afternoon. In a North-American style bikeshare system, there would also be an OV Fiets station at the campus, so other people could use the same bike while I'm in class, and I could find a different bike in the afternoon. That way I would only be charged for the 10 minutes I'm actually cycling rather than the 7 hours I have the bike out. In Hamilton Canada, an identical commute (10 min bikeshare from Hamilton Centre station) would cost $1.80 a day instead of €3.85 ($5.64), and you could be on a bike within 1 minute of disembarking the train, because you tap your card directly on the bike. Not tapping to enter an enclosure, tapping to get a key, looking for the bike then tapping to get out.
A 'shared bike' system as you find in some other countries wouldn't work in the Netherlands. Everybody has a bike. And the cities wouldn't like having huge parking facilities dedicated to shared bikes only, while bike parking is already a big problem. The OV-fiets (hundreds of locations throughout the netherlands, every relevant train station) and thousands of bikes works very well for train travellers. For people visiting Amsterdam, i'd recommend renting a bike. Typical cost: 7-10 euro per day, and, in Amsterdam, always to be found in a 300 meter radius.
Well, that was pretty simple, wasn't It .. and no queues at the time you were there. But one thing troubles me. I was looking for the BRAKES on the bike, but did not see any. Euhh .. Presumably those bikes do HAVE brakes?
An 'achteruittraprem' (back-paddle-brake) is most often used for city bikes as there are less parts to break off. It may also be more intuitive, as long as you are not used to handlebar brakes. The downside is that these brakes sometimes do get hot if you brake long enough, for example in mountainous areas. But well, we're in the Netherlands...
@@marcvanderwee Yes, Marc. I know about the back-pedal rear brake. A brake like that was installed on my Slada bike from IKEA. But that kind only works on the rear wheel. Here in UK it is mandatory to have a front brake as well. Is that not so... in Nederland ook?
@@effyleven Here in the Netherlands it is not mandatory to have front brakes as well. It never was. In Germany and Austria it is also mandatory to have a separate front brake along with back-pedal brake. But I think that is also because of hilly or mountainious terrain, if one brake fails the other is still there...
@@elien1902 Exactly why I use Bike share bikes in Downtown Toronto. Nearly 700 docks around the downtown core and nearly 7000 bikes. Extremely cheap too, $99 for the whole year, $15 for a tourist friendly 3 day plan, $7 for a day plan and, $3.25 for a single ride. Each require you to dock after 30mins but you can just re-unlock the same bike and start the 30mins over, it's stupidly easy when you're downtown and perfect for when you need to pop into a shop, no need to worry about the bike being stolen since it's at a dock near by.
Most of the times those bike storages are in a cellar and most of the times when you've reached the lower level you wil encounter a man with a smile on his face saying that they're out of bikes. Would be nice to have a (hand written) sign at the top of the stairs! Just a tiny bit of advice...
People sometimes to do it, but when you get caught in the train police will be called and you get picked up at the next station and take you with them and you pay a big fine afterwards, so not really recommended.
Hallo is een vouwfiets niet handiger en goedkoper .Ik heb voor €50 op marktplaats een vouwfiets gekocht.Nou die kan gratis mee op de trein een brommerslot erbij en klaar is kees.......graag uileg waarom jij toch kiest voor een ov fiets.???
@Daan Made in Holland Dude, I don't know how old you are and what your goal is by posting this comment (it just seems to me like you want to rile people up or you intended it as a bad joke), but you're being quite inconsiderate. I believe that anyone choosing to ride a bike rather than take the car is doing their best to help the environment and themselves in their own way. Now I know a non-electric bike is much better for the environment, but there are many people with physical issues (damaged knees/heart problems/etc.) that result in them being unable to use a regular bike. @Martijn Vv I don't think the OV-bike rental system has electric bikes, but you should be able to rent one somewhere. My apologies if I've made any mistakes in my English, like Daan I am from the Netherlands and English is not my native language.
@Daan Made in Holland hahaha nee je praat inderdaad niet tegen mij maar ik probeer mensen uit anderen landen te laten zien dat niet iedereen in Nederland zo bevooroordeeld is en zichzelf zo geweldig vindt als jij. Er is een juiste manier van denken en reageren op dingen en er is een verkeerde, onaardige manier, momenteel val jij in die tweede categorie. Maar goed, wederom weet ik niet hoe oud je bent en hoop ik dat wanneer je volwassen bent je ook netjes en aardig leert reageren op mensen.
@@somtimessaynever thanks for your time but no joke , i ride about 8 miles every other day and i'm going on 67 ,, i'd still peddle eletric but i'd like the option when going up hills in my area, to not ride because i'm to tired to get out would really sadden me and you guys are life conditioned more than we are but this could pass as our cities are seeing the valule of your ways... thanks again david
volgens mij moet je op 1:10 eerst op 1 drukken en daarna pas op ja, dus technisch gezien klopt deze tutorial niet. jammer maar je krijgt een duimpje omlaag van mij. dit bericht zal ik verder verspreiden. (edit van 1:12 naar 1:10)
Wel goed kijken hè. Ik dacht dat ik op de ja moest gaan drukken, dus daar houd ik mijn vinger alvast boven, maar dat hoefde niet dus ik druk daar ook inderdaad niet op en ga alleen naar de 1.
We've transcended the idea of gender specific bicycles. It's just easier to get on these bikes. What advantage does a men's bike give in this case? And no bicycles for kids. no. Children are either too little and can be carries on the rear or are tall enough to rent an adult bike.
There is no such thing as a "lady bike". Those bicycles are called step-through and was designed for...... Men! Men in suits who didn't want to raise their leg so far up that they look like a dork because they were too fancy for that, so they wanted a bike that let them get on a bicycle with dignity. These days it's the only model bike which is truly unisex, all other types of bicycles from cyclocross to MTB to road racing to time trial comes in male or female specific models.
@Daan Made in Holland Still, I find it silly to suggest that bikes with low bars are for women only, and not for men. These bikes are used by all kinds of people, including men and women dressed in all kinds of practical and impractical clothes, as well as the elderly. These bikes need to be accessible to as many people as possible. If an able-bodied, grown man refuses to use a bike simply because it's a "woman's bike" and somehow emasculating...well then that says a lot about their masculinity.
Nice video as usual, very handy to show my parents how life in NL is, these kind of videos are exactly what people do not see or can't imagine, after living in The Netherlands for 20 years, when telling them how things work, they don't get it or don't understand, but visually is another story. Cheers. (I am Argentinian btw. and they are having an incredible boom with bicycles over there, but they do not have the infrastructure yet, it is like they just started and it is like 1975 NL now over there) ;)
Simple, elegant, practical Dutch.
super leuk te zien hoe dat ov fietsverhuursystem werkt. dat hebben wij in duitsland ook nodig.
I am blown away
Nice. This is clearly not the slickest OV-fiets facility, ja? Perhaps show this again at one of those stations with the bicycle parking directly below the platforms and at a large station when it's busy, and also what the biz-tourists do as an option (like people from nearby countries who frequently come to do business in the country...)
Hey, this is the best train station in the Netherlands ofcourse. ;) (Culemborg is my hometown) There are plans for expansion of the building and surroundings, the trainstation is actually quite busy for its size. You are invited to take a train here and enjoy the pleasant old city center :)
Excellent video done wordlessly.
Awesome! Are all the bikes the same? I am a bit shorter in height and would maybe would want a shorter bike? Would be a lot safer too.
How can a tourist from another country use this system
The OV fiets is meant for people that live in the country, it's not possible (or at the very least, extremely impractical) for a tourist to be able to rent a OV fiets, because in order to rent a OV fiets you need to have a OV "subscription" and you are only able to link those with a Dutch bank account and Dutch address.
There are other companies that offer rental of bikes to tourists (and locals, but they don't really need to make use of those)
So you cannot use a anonymous ov card ?
@@RCAVDH No, it has to be a personal ov card. And even though there's no longer a subscription fee, you probably still have to add it to your account/card through one of the machines. I don't think that it just automatically happens when you get a personal card.
Check this out: it seems that the Utrecht Region Pass may allow you to bypass the local-only system. Looking at their FAQ, it seems to be valid for OV-fiets rentals nation-wide, not only in Utrecht.
utrechtregionpass.com/ov-fiets-public-transport-bicycle/
@@Arjay404 That seems to be a huge missed opportunity... Bike Share schemes in Europe and North America don't require some pass, you just make an account and buy a plan.
When problems arise that this excellent system will not handle, how can you contact a human for assistance? I know, from 50 years experience developing computer systems, that no system can handle everything, no matter how comprehensive. Excellent video!
So you developed computer systems before they were invented ?
@@martijnvv8031 We recently had the 50th anniversary of the moon landings, Apollo 11 used a computer, maybe you think those were faked as well. Digital computers have been around since WW2.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer#History
@Daan Made in Holland read carefully, I said digital computers. Ain't gonna try to convince you about the moon landings.
Anyways, its a manned facility. Plus in most cities they also have a repairshop. Thus there is always some personal around.
All that is needed now is a system that allows tourists or business visitors NOT from Netherlands or adjoining countries to use them. The system is linked to a chip card that can only be bought by Dutch residents, or those residents in Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany (I think). Others can only buy "anonieme chipkaart" that cannot be used to hire an OV-Fiets. You can still top up an anonieme kaart using a credit card, but I guess the reasoning is that visitors from outside the adjacent countries are not likely to be "border workers" or that tourists might pre-empt fietsen needed by people who need them for serious purposes. Arguably, if NS receives subsidies from the state this is all logical, but disappointing for visitors.
I appreciate that Amsterdam and Utrecht etc., have other huurfiets places that outside visitors CAN use, but surely this will not be the case everywhere, and perhaps the OV-fiets system takes away some of their regular business, too.
Here in UK, facilities for cycling are almost non existent, certainly far worse than the Netherlands in the 1960s, and visitors to popular tourist destinations outside London will struggle to find bikes for hire at all, or near a station!
I am envious. Very envious...
I am not a resident and I have a personal OV-chipkaart
But dont you also have to subscribe to OV-bike online?
The OV-fiets is really a good invention my only problem with it is that it’s kind of rare to find. There are only 15-ish stations in Amsterdam which comparing it to other big cities in the world is really low. If not the whole Netherlands at least the big cities (Amsterdam, Utrecht) should have a bigger city float of bikes operated by OV-fiets and NS.
The nice thing about the OV-fiets is that ALL the train stations have them. So it is fast and easy to reach your destination if you travel by train. The system isn't really designed for trips within the city because everybody who lives there already has their own bike.
To add to Kaj, "OV" stands for openbaar vervoer or public transport, it's explicitly meant for last-mile transport after using public transportation.
But the problem with the business model is that it's based on round trips to and from the same station, which means that each bicycle is sitting unused for long periods of time while the person does whatever they went to do. It's not that there's a shortage of OV Fietsen, it's that the fietsen are not being used efficiently.
Take for example my commute starting this September. I take the train to Delft, pick up an OV Fiets and cycle to school and leave the bike parked all day on campus, then I bike back to the station in the afternoon. In a North-American style bikeshare system, there would also be an OV Fiets station at the campus, so other people could use the same bike while I'm in class, and I could find a different bike in the afternoon. That way I would only be charged for the 10 minutes I'm actually cycling rather than the 7 hours I have the bike out.
In Hamilton Canada, an identical commute (10 min bikeshare from Hamilton Centre station) would cost $1.80 a day instead of €3.85 ($5.64), and you could be on a bike within 1 minute of disembarking the train, because you tap your card directly on the bike. Not tapping to enter an enclosure, tapping to get a key, looking for the bike then tapping to get out.
A 'shared bike' system as you find in some other countries wouldn't work in the Netherlands. Everybody has a bike. And the cities wouldn't like having huge parking facilities dedicated to shared bikes only, while bike parking is already a big problem. The OV-fiets (hundreds of locations throughout the netherlands, every relevant train station) and thousands of bikes works very well for train travellers. For people visiting Amsterdam, i'd recommend renting a bike. Typical cost: 7-10 euro per day, and, in Amsterdam, always to be found in a 300 meter radius.
@@Pfooh Swapbikes is really popular now. The ones with the blue front tires. swapfiets.nl/en/
And now you don't even need a key! You just tap your card on the bike itself and away you go!
If cars are allowed to drive in their Garages, why are Bicycles not?
Well, that was pretty simple, wasn't It .. and no queues at the time you were there. But one thing troubles me. I was looking for the BRAKES on the bike, but did not see any. Euhh .. Presumably those bikes do HAVE brakes?
You just use your pedals to brake:
m.th-cam.com/video/ajFdrfOc5As/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/FPe-mds--UI/w-d-xo.html
Of course these bicycles have brakes! They are activated by pushing the peddles backwards.
An 'achteruittraprem' (back-paddle-brake) is most often used for city bikes as there are less parts to break off. It may also be more intuitive, as long as you are not used to handlebar brakes.
The downside is that these brakes sometimes do get hot if you brake long enough, for example in mountainous areas. But well, we're in the Netherlands...
@@marcvanderwee Yes, Marc. I know about the back-pedal rear brake. A brake like that was installed on my Slada bike from IKEA. But that kind only works on the rear wheel. Here in UK it is mandatory to have a front brake as well. Is that not so... in Nederland ook?
@@effyleven Here in the Netherlands it is not mandatory to have front brakes as well. It never was. In Germany and Austria it is also mandatory to have a separate front brake along with back-pedal brake. But I think that is also because of hilly or mountainious terrain, if one brake fails the other is still there...
I have to have personal OV Chipkaart right?
Nice system
< 4 euros/24 hours so pretty cheap too.
It is NOT Cheap YOU can Buy FOR €50 A GOOD bicycle second hand AND put it where YOU travel or A folding bike
@@stingray7074
But then you always have to take then with you. These ones you can just hire everywhere.
@@stingray7074
But then you always have to take then with you. These ones you can just hire everywhere.
@@stingray7074 where?
@@elien1902 Exactly why I use Bike share bikes in Downtown Toronto. Nearly 700 docks around the downtown core and nearly 7000 bikes. Extremely cheap too, $99 for the whole year, $15 for a tourist friendly 3 day plan, $7 for a day plan and, $3.25 for a single ride. Each require you to dock after 30mins but you can just re-unlock the same bike and start the 30mins over, it's stupidly easy when you're downtown and perfect for when you need to pop into a shop, no need to worry about the bike being stolen since it's at a dock near by.
Most of the times those bike storages are in a cellar and most of the times when you've reached the lower level you wil encounter a man with a smile on his face saying that they're out of bikes. Would be nice to have a (hand written) sign at the top of the stairs! Just a tiny bit of advice...
Fam. Van Veen. Just on the big train stations. All the other ones go by this system.
Also, in the NS app you can see how many bikes are available.
anyone hop those initial gates? Happens a lot in the SF Bay Area
Yes, a lot of people do, but a lot of Times, there is also control in the train
But you still can't get to where the keys are stored.
People sometimes to do it, but when you get caught in the train police will be called and you get picked up at the next station and take you with them and you pay a big fine afterwards, so not really recommended.
Hallo is een vouwfiets niet handiger en goedkoper .Ik heb voor €50 op marktplaats een vouwfiets gekocht.Nou die kan gratis mee op de trein een brommerslot erbij en klaar is kees.......graag uileg waarom jij toch kiest voor een ov fiets.???
are the bikes eletric????? thanks
No, muscle powered
@@martijnvv8031 thank you,,,,, but what if i need eletric because of health issues is there a program or something??? david
@Daan Made in Holland Dude, I don't know how old you are and what your goal is by posting this comment (it just seems to me like you want to rile people up or you intended it as a bad joke), but you're being quite inconsiderate. I believe that anyone choosing to ride a bike rather than take the car is doing their best to help the environment and themselves in their own way. Now I know a non-electric bike is much better for the environment, but there are many people with physical issues (damaged knees/heart problems/etc.) that result in them being unable to use a regular bike. @Martijn Vv I don't think the OV-bike rental system has electric bikes, but you should be able to rent one somewhere. My apologies if I've made any mistakes in my English, like Daan I am from the Netherlands and English is not my native language.
@Daan Made in Holland hahaha nee je praat inderdaad niet tegen mij maar ik probeer mensen uit anderen landen te laten zien dat niet iedereen in Nederland zo bevooroordeeld is en zichzelf zo geweldig vindt als jij. Er is een juiste manier van denken en reageren op dingen en er is een verkeerde, onaardige manier, momenteel val jij in die tweede categorie. Maar goed, wederom weet ik niet hoe oud je bent en hoop ik dat wanneer je volwassen bent je ook netjes en aardig leert reageren op mensen.
@@somtimessaynever thanks for your time but no joke , i ride about 8 miles every other day and i'm going on 67 ,, i'd still peddle eletric but i'd like the option when going up hills in my area, to not ride because i'm to tired to get out would really sadden me and you guys are life conditioned more than we are but this could pass as our cities are seeing the valule of your ways... thanks again david
Wow ! That’s nice.
volgens mij moet je op 1:10 eerst op 1 drukken en daarna pas op ja, dus technisch gezien klopt deze tutorial niet. jammer maar je krijgt een duimpje omlaag van mij. dit bericht zal ik verder verspreiden. (edit van 1:12 naar 1:10)
Wel goed kijken hè. Ik dacht dat ik op de ja moest gaan drukken, dus daar houd ik mijn vinger alvast boven, maar dat hoefde niet dus ik druk daar ook inderdaad niet op en ga alleen naar de 1.
@@BicycleDutch Oke, voordeel van de twijfel. Like is verdiend ;-)
That was easy
Seems to be perfect for when you're visiting a small town, The dutch just do it better
To burocratic but useful. Nice the relationship between public transport (train) and bycicle.
How could this be any less bureaucratic? Scan card, push two buttons, pick your key. Ever tried renting a car?
@@namewarvergeben I agree
So far only lady-bikes, and no bikes for kids...
We've transcended the idea of gender specific bicycles. It's just easier to get on these bikes. What advantage does a men's bike give in this case?
And no bicycles for kids. no. Children are either too little and can be carries on the rear or are tall enough to rent an adult bike.
There is no such thing as a "lady bike".
Those bicycles are called step-through and was designed for...... Men! Men in suits who didn't want to raise their leg so far up that they look like a dork because they were too fancy for that, so they wanted a bike that let them get on a bicycle with dignity.
These days it's the only model bike which is truly unisex, all other types of bicycles from cyclocross to MTB to road racing to time trial comes in male or female specific models.
@Daan Made in Holland Still, I find it silly to suggest that bikes with low bars are for women only, and not for men. These bikes are used by all kinds of people, including men and women dressed in all kinds of practical and impractical clothes, as well as the elderly. These bikes need to be accessible to as many people as possible. If an able-bodied, grown man refuses to use a bike simply because it's a "woman's bike" and somehow emasculating...well then that says a lot about their masculinity.
@Daan Made in Holland Did you understand what I wrote about public bikes having to be "accessible to as many people as possible"?