Great, such an experiment to allow the poorest people to travel for free, but the train is too expensive for anyone who has to pay for their own ticket, writes Hans Nijenhuis in this commentary.
It is a noble initiative. From July 1, a thousand low-income Amersfoort residents will be allowed to travel by train for free for six months from the NS. The fact that NS is looking for ways to break transport poverty is to be commended. But the well-intentioned experiment can easily go off the rails.
First of all, there is the psychology of ‘free’. We simply attach less value to something that costs nothing. Indifferent use lurks. In Luxembourg, public transport has been free since 2020. But the additional travelers are mainly former cyclists and walkers. And young people, who use public transport as a mobile meeting place in bad weather. The travelers who always took public transport complain about the lack of seats because of all those ‘fun travelers’. And the driver does not get out of his car.
If you take the car, it will be cheaper even at the current high petrol price of 2.35 euros per liter
In Luxembourg, public transport is free for everyone. The Vooruit pass is strictly income-related. But that poses another risk: the pass increases the so-called poverty trap. Those who live just below the social minimum and are given the opportunity to work more run the risk of losing benefits and, on balance, worsening. The paperwork alone for those who want to work on benefits can be daunting. There will soon be an additional barrier: the fear of losing that extremely valuable free train pass.
The real flaw is that the train has simply become too expensive for everyone who has to pay for their own ticket. A return ticket from The Hague to Zwolle costs 57 euros in second class without discount. If you take the car, you will be cheaper, even at the current high petrol price of 2.35 euros per liter: about 48 euros in fuel. So you can beat the train alone in the car, let alone with a family.
Of course, those thousand test subjects in Amersfoort will not have a car. So do that test. But also consider the effect on other travelers when evaluating. And how nice it would be if the train were simply affordable for everyone, instead of a luxury product with complicated discount passes.
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