{"id":197153,"date":"2026-04-08T12:02:19","date_gmt":"2026-04-08T10:02:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=197153"},"modified":"2026-04-08T12:02:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-08T10:02:20","slug":"studenten-blijven-miljoenen-euros-aan-ov-boetes-betalen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2026\/04\/08\/studenten-blijven-miljoenen-euros-aan-ov-boetes-betalen\/","title":{"rendered":"Students continue to pay millions of euros in public transport fines"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-intro-font-size\">In 2025, thirty thousand students together paid 5.6 million euros in public transport fines. An alternative could make these fines unnecessary, but the ministry has never considered it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1131\" src=\"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2022\/05\/12161821\/Studenten-lenen-geldproblemen-geld-money-issues-Honey-Simatupang-1600x1131.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-140020\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2022\/05\/12161821\/Studenten-lenen-geldproblemen-geld-money-issues-Honey-Simatupang-1600x1131.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1766139285 1600w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2022\/05\/12161821\/Studenten-lenen-geldproblemen-geld-money-issues-Honey-Simatupang-875x618.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1766139285 875w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2022\/05\/12161821\/Studenten-lenen-geldproblemen-geld-money-issues-Honey-Simatupang-300x212.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1766139285 300w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2022\/05\/12161821\/Studenten-lenen-geldproblemen-geld-money-issues-Honey-Simatupang-1280x905.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1766139285 1280w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2022\/05\/12161821\/Studenten-lenen-geldproblemen-geld-money-issues-Honey-Simatupang-1536x1086.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1766139285 1536w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2022\/05\/12161821\/Studenten-lenen-geldproblemen-geld-money-issues-Honey-Simatupang-2048x1448.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1766139285 2048w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2022\/05\/12161821\/Studenten-lenen-geldproblemen-geld-money-issues-Honey-Simatupang-150x106.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1766139285 150w, https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2022\/05\/12161821\/Studenten-lenen-geldproblemen-geld-money-issues-Honey-Simatupang-225x159.jpg?image-crop-positioner-ts=1766139285 225w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><p data-component=\"image-credits\" class=\"flex flex-wrap gap-2 items-center text-base\">\n\t<span aria-hidden=\"true\"><svg width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<path d=\"M19.5 5.25H16.9012L15.6234 3.33375C15.555 3.23114 15.4623 3.147 15.3535 3.08879C15.2448 3.03057 15.1233 3.00007 15 3H9C8.87665 3.00007 8.75522 3.03057 8.64648 3.08879C8.53773 3.147 8.44502 3.23114 8.37656 3.33375L7.09781 5.25H4.5C3.90326 5.25 3.33097 5.48705 2.90901 5.90901C2.48705 6.33097 2.25 6.90326 2.25 7.5V18C2.25 18.5967 2.48705 19.169 2.90901 19.591C3.33097 20.0129 3.90326 20.25 4.5 20.25H19.5C20.0967 20.25 20.669 20.0129 21.091 19.591C21.5129 19.169 21.75 18.5967 21.75 18V7.5C21.75 6.90326 21.5129 6.33097 21.091 5.90901C20.669 5.48705 20.0967 5.25 19.5 5.25ZM15.375 12.375C15.375 13.0425 15.1771 13.695 14.8062 14.25C14.4354 14.8051 13.9083 15.2376 13.2916 15.4931C12.6749 15.7485 11.9963 15.8154 11.3416 15.6852C10.6869 15.5549 10.0855 15.2335 9.61351 14.7615C9.14151 14.2895 8.82007 13.6881 8.68985 13.0334C8.55962 12.3787 8.62646 11.7001 8.88191 11.0834C9.13735 10.4667 9.56993 9.93964 10.125 9.56879C10.68 9.19794 11.3325 9 12 9C12.8951 9 13.7535 9.35558 14.3865 9.98851C15.0194 10.6214 15.375 11.4799 15.375 12.375Z\" fill=\"currentColor\"\/>\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\t<span class=\"sr-only\">Image by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t<span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/persons\/honey-simatupang\/\" class=\"underline hocus:no-underline decoration-1 underline-offset-2\">Honey  Simatupang<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Students are allowed to travel for free or at a discount on public transport thanks to the \u2018student travel product\u2019 on their OV-chip card. If they are no longer entitled to it, they must remove this travel product at a chip card machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Stopping the travel product often goes wrong. Students forget to do it or think it happens automatically when they deregister from their programme. If they then check in somewhere, they receive a fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2025, almost 30 thousand (former) students received such fines. Via student finance body DUO, they paid a total of 5.6 million euros to the transport companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Politics<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It used to be much worse. At its peak in 2014, (<a href=\"https:\/\/advalvas.vu.nl\/en\/\" id=\"https:\/\/advalvas.vu.nl\/en\/\">former<\/a>) students together paid 52.6 million euros. The House of Representatives began to apply pressure: students should not become a cash cow, several parties argued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All sorts of measures were devised to reduce the avalanche of fines. Information provision improved and (former) students would no longer receive a fine if they had not used their OV card at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But in reality, everyone wanted the student travel entitlement to be stopped automatically. It was a matter of waiting until this became technically possible. In 2022, then education minister Robbert Dijkgraaf said: \u201cIt is also my wish. It is simply clear that we must do this. However, in the current public transport payment system this is not easily possible.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>New system<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In the new <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ovpay.nl\/\" id=\"https:\/\/www.ovpay.nl\/\">OVpay<\/a> system, automatic termination is in principle possible. But even then it will <a href=\"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/2024\/09\/25\/ov-boetes-pas-na-maand-gaat-duo-je-verlopen-ov-kaart-stopzetten\/\" id=\"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/2024\/09\/25\/ov-boetes-pas-na-maand-gaat-duo-je-verlopen-ov-kaart-stopzetten\/\">not happen<\/a>. Students still have to end their travel product themselves. It will only become slightly easier: it no longer has to be done at a machine, it can be done online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If the student forgets to do so, DUO will terminate the travel product after a month (see the box for the reason). By then, forgetful students will have accumulated 192 euros in fines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Alternative<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>An alternative can be imagined: instead of issuing a fine, you could simply charge the fare. After all, thanks to the check-in and check-out system, it is clear exactly which journey the (former) students have made.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fines are intended to combat misuse of the student travel product: the government and transport companies want to prevent (former) students from continuing to travel for free with their student card when they are no longer entitled to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that misuse could also be prevented by charging the fare. Fines would no longer be necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It turns out this idea has never occurred to the ministry. \u201cAs far as is known, this has never been considered\u201d, a spokesperson said in response to questions from the Higher Education Press Agency about this alternative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The company behind the OV-chip card and OVpay (Translink) believes it is possible. \u201cTechnically, many things can be made possible\u201d, a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>History<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>From the 1980s until 2012, the student public transport card was a laminated card that you had to show to the conductor. You had to hand in the card at a post office if you were no longer entitled to it. The fine system dates from that time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There was logic behind it. If you did not hand in the card, you could continue to travel with it. You could take the train from Groningen to Maastricht every day. Where you got on and off was not recorded. The fines were meant to deter fare dodgers and to compensate the transport companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The introduction of the OV-chip card was supposed to put an end to this, transport companies promised at the time, but they later went back on this. It turned out not to be technically possible after all to stop the travel product automatically. But with OVpay, it is now at least possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Opponents<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The Dutch National Student Association (LSVb) has long been a fierce opponent of public transport fines. \u201cYou should help students, not punish them\u201d, says chair Maaike Krom. Students do not deliberately continue travelling with an expired travel product, she believes. \u201cWho would deliberately run up sky-high fines?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The final word has not yet been said. On Wednesday afternoon, the House of Representatives will debate higher education and student finance. This issue may also be raised then.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<div data-name=\"acf\/featured-text\" class=\"md:mt-6 p-4 md:p-6 lg:p-8 bg-sand-300 theme-sand:bg-white theme-violet:bg-white theme-mocha:bg-white wysiwyg *:last:mb-0!\" >\n\t\t<p data-start=\"4469\" data-end=\"4547\"><strong>Why does DUO not want to stop the student public transport card automatically?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4551\" data-end=\"4822\">Students sometimes switch programmes and their new enrolment may not yet have been processed by DUO. In 2025, this applied to 23 thousand students. There are therefore students who still have travel entitlement while DUO is temporarily unaware of it.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"4826\" data-end=\"5049\">The ministry does not want to inconvenience these students by stopping their public transport card, a spokesperson said. That is why, in the new OVpay system, DUO will wait a month before terminating the student travel product.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"5053\" data-end=\"5305\">There are also European students who apply for student finance (or an extension of it). The assessment can take several weeks, after which they may still be entitled to the student public transport card. Last year, this applied to 88 thousand students.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"5309\" data-end=\"5518\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Finally, there are 32 thousand students who deregister from their studies too early, in May or July, even though they would still have been entitled to use their student travel product until the end of August.<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n\n\n\n\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2025, thirty thousand students together paid 5.6 million euros in public transport fines. An alternative could make these fines unnecessary, but the ministry has never considered it. Students are allowed to travel for free or at a discount on public transport thanks to the \u2018student travel product\u2019 on their OV-chip card. If they are [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":311,"featured_media":140020,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_trash_the_other_posts":false,"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"em_content_type":[24778],"class_list":["post-197153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-studentlife","em_content_type-nieuws"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Students continue to pay millions of euros in public transport fines<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 2025, thirty thousand students together paid 5.6 million euros in public transport fines. 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