Students protest against NS

The interview with NS CEO Roger van Boxtel in the Algemeen Dagblad was not well received by students. A group of students are therefore planning a demonstration.

The idea to get students travelling outside rush hour is not new, but the interview with Roger van Boxtel got feelings running high once again. In the interview, Van Boxtel said that he’d had talks with several universities about adapting their timetables.

To show their disapproval, a number of students are organising a demonstration in the form of a National Championship in travelling by train in the rush hour. The exact date is still being discussed on the Facebook page.

The petition already has 15,000 signatories.

Chance of success

Whether Van Boxtel’s idea will be implemented is still not certain. On 2 March, the AD headlines said that the NS top man would get his way. The HU University of Applied Sciences Utrecht will be giving classes until 7.00 p.m. and Utrecht University is also reviewing its options for adapting the timetables.

But according to Martijn Gerritsen on Voxweb, Radboud University will not be changing the timetables. “There have been consultations, but we have very little room for manoeuvre.”

Nor can Van Boxtel expect any success at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) or Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA), as is apparent in Folia. “Very doubtful,” according to vice president of the Executive Board Hans Amman from the UvA and the HvA.