OV-fiets: a fast and easy rental bike
What is an Public Transport Bicycle, in Dutch a OV-fiets?
An OV-fiets is a rental bike that is part of the Dutch public transport (‘OV-fiets’ means ‘public transport bicycle’). At 150 rail stations, OV-Fiets rental facilities have been set up that provide fast and easy access to rentalbikes, which can be used as extension of the rail trip. The service covers moststations in the Netherlands.
Hiring an OV-fiets is fast and easy. No more need to rush to catch a connection or wait in draughty bus shelters. Instead, you will enjoy the freedom of the OV-fiets.
How does it work?
Users have to register with OV Fiets before they can access the service. The subscription fee is € 9,50 a year. With their (chip)card user can collect a bike within one minute.
The bicycles can be used up to 60 hours and can be parked parked and locked everywhere, until the user needs it for the return trip to the rail station. The utilisation fee for OV-Fiets is € 2.85 per 20 hours (2008).
The user pays monthly, which requires a bank account in the Netherlands.
Where is the OV-fiets hire service located?
At the moment there are 150 railway stations that have an OV-fiets hire service and this number is increasing rapidly.
Future prospects - What is the market potential?
The AVV Transport Research Center in the Netherlands evaluated the market
potential of OV-Fiets. The study indicates that a country wide OV-Fiets system
could achieve a market share of about 1% for rail egress trips. The potential
could even be higher if further adaptations to customer wishes would be realised,
e.g. options to book in advance, guaranteed ava ilability of a replacement bike in
case of a defect, return possibilities at other rental points, and more payment
options.