Travelers who want to take the train from Emmen from Monday must take into account strict access controls on the platform. Carrier Arriva will have it checked every day for four weeks between 12 noon and 8 p.m. whether everyone boarding has a valid ticket. Anyone who does not have this will be stopped and must leave the station.
According to Arriva, the measure is desperately needed due to the sharp increase in fare dodgers on the Emmen-Zwolle route. In addition, conductors and public transport officers are increasingly encountering travelers without valid identification. This regularly leads to calls for the police to carry out an ID check, which, according to the carrier, causes unnecessary escalations and aggression.
“Our boas have limited powers and cannot determine the identity themselves,” says Arriva. “Without ID, fines cannot be imposed and offenders remain unaffected.”
The government is working on a change in the law to give boas access to the driving license register from next year. According to Arriva, this makes little sense: the group in question often does not have a driver’s license and is therefore not registered.
According to the carrier, the situation has gotten out of hand, especially in Emmen. A permanent group would cause nuisance in and around the station and repeatedly travel without a ticket. The carrier says that travelers and employees feel increasingly unsafe as a result.
By checking everyone in advance, Arriva hopes to prevent fare dodgers and nuisance offenders before they board the train. The company previously carried out similar actions in both Emmen and Zwolle. Although this resulted in a significant decrease in the number of fare dodgers, it also brought new problems. Some travelers only bought a ticket for part of the journey, others even took to rail to avoid checks.
Arriva emphasizes that the new platform checks are only a temporary emergency solution. There are no entrance gates in Emmen, which makes permanent entry control difficult to organize. The carrier will examine the effect of the measure in the coming month and whether further steps are necessary.