Aaf Brandt Corstius should be ashamed of it, but she still proudly told it yesterday in the talk show Op1: despite her high income, she occasionally drives black public transport.
The number of public transport fare dodgers in Amsterdam is rising according to The parole crazy: the GVB has observed that the number of passengers without a decent ticket has increased by an impressive 50% in 2022 compared to before the pandemic. A campaign is now being launched to vigorously address this behaviour.
Public transport tiger Aaf
The topic was discussed on the talk show last night On 1, where presenter Natasja Gibbs confessed that she has also blacked out with public transport in the past. “I just didn’t have the money.”
Those who do have the money are Aaf Brandt Corstius and her husband Gijs Groenteboer, the brand new TV star of SBS 6. However, she does not want to pay for the tram and train at all. “I’m quite a public transport tiger, because I don’t drive a car, so I would like it if it were all free.”
Natasja: “For everyone, regardless of income?”
Aaf: “Yes.”
‘I drive black’
huh? But isn’t public transport already free for Aaf? At least, that’s what she thinks. “I sometimes drive black, to be honest.”
Natasja surprised: “Why then?”
Aaf: “Well, I sometimes check in with my debit card, because that is also possible nowadays, but sometimes he doesn’t take it and then I’m like: oh, force majeure, hey, I can’t do anything about that.”
Natasja: “Ah, so. Passive evasion.”
Amsterdam tradition
There are of course countless other ways to pay for your ride on public transport, but apparently Aaf feels comfortable taking advantage of this public service for free. Of course it is not very solidarity. People who avoid their contribution ensure that tickets are more expensive than they would be if all users contributed.
However, Aaf refuses to contribute. Where does the bill go? The people who do pay their tickets dutifully, including the people who have a much smaller wallet than Aaf. Well, then they should check better, she says. “I think there is quite a bit of control.”
Get in the front
How do we get people like Aaf in line? She answers herself. “Now I was in Utrecht and then you just have to get in at the front and then there is no choice. Then the whole problem is solved. Very easy.”
She continues: “Yes, I think it is like that in Amsterdam because there is a very old Amsterdam tradition of fare-dodging and cycling through a red light. That is just a kind of thing with old Amsterdammers, which I include myself in.”
Natasja: “That has become a habit?”
Aaf: “Yes.”
Op1 presenter Amber Kortzorg emphasizes that this is not acceptable behavior: “Well, I think it would be a good thing that we continue to pay for it, because it is very nice that it is there.”
Caught in Paris
Fortunately, Aaf and Gijs have already been caught once in the French capital Paris for their dissolute behavior as public transport tigers. They were checked there, in front of their two children, and could not show a ticket.
The consequence? Gijs went completely out of his mind against the inspector. He even called him “asshole.” “I threw the receipt he gave me, which came from one of those ATMs, on the floor at his feet. Yes, I just let myself go completely.”