Dutch Public Transport
Dutch public transport comes in many forms, from trains, buses and trams to watertaxis, ferries and bicycles. Read on for an overview of 10 types of public transportation available in Amsterdam, The Hague, Rotterdam and rest of Holland…
#1 TRAIN
NS (Nederlandse Spoorwegen) is the Dutch national rail service operator in Holland and is majority-owned by the government. There are three types of trains: Intercity (express), Sprinter (local) and High Speed. NS International provides service into neighboring countries. ProRail is the organization responsible for maintaining the rail network infrastructure and rail traffic. It is also government-owned.
#2 TRAM
Tram service is provided at the municipal level. Only 4 cities in the Netherlands operate tram transport systems: Amsterdam (GVB tram map), The Hague (HTM tram map), Rotterdam (RET tram map) and Utrecht (Qbuzz tram map). In all cases, tram service goes beyond municipal borders into neighboring cities. Amsterdam’s trams reach Amstelveen and Diemen, The Hague’s trams connect Delft, Rijswijk, Wateringen, Voorburg and Leidschendam. Rotterdam’s trams reach Schiedam and Barendrecht and Utrecht’s trams reach Ijsselstein and Nieuwegein.
#3 METRO
Amsterdam and Rotterdam are the only two cities that have underground Metro transport systems.
GVB operates the Amsterdam Metro which has five lines (50/51/52/53/54) that crisscross Amsterdam and extend into the neighboring municipalities of Amstelveen, Diemen and Oude-Amstel. Amsterdam Metro map
RET operates the Rotterdam Metro which also has five lines (A/B/C/D/E) that extend from the city center to the neighboring municipalities of Capelle aan den Ijssel and Schiedam. The ‘Beurs’ station is the hub for the Rotterdam Metro, the only station where all five lines connect. Rotterdam Metro map
#4 RANDSTAD RAIL
This light-rail transport system runs on abandoned freight train tracks between Rotterdam, The Hague and Zoetermeer. The carriages can travel at faster speeds than trams but lower speeds than trains.
RET operates the north-south route (Line E) from Slinge in Rotterdam South to Den Haag Central Station in The Hague. This leg of the RandstadRail is 27 km long and services a number of suburb communities including Bergschenkoek, Berkel en Rodenrijs, Pijnacker, Nootdorp, Leidschendam and Voorburg. It also stops near Rotterdam-The Hague Airport (Meijersplein).
Bikes are allowed on Line E (no extra charge) weekdays between 09:00-16:00 and after 18:30, and all day on Saturday/Sunday.
HTM operates the east-west RandstadRail service which has two lines:
- Line 3 – from ‘Arnold Spoelplein’ in The Hague’s Loosduinen district to ‘Centrum West’ in Zoetermeer
- Line 4 – from ‘De Uithof’ in The Hague’s Escamp district to ‘Javalaan’ in Zoetermeer east.
Bicycles are allowed on RandstadRail lines 3/4 (no extra charge) weekdays after 19:00, and all day on weekends.
#5 BUS
Bus service in the Netherlands is operated at the regional level. Key bus transport providers are GVB in the Amsterdam region, HTM in the Haaglanden region (includes The Hague), RET in the Rijnmond region (includes Rotterdam), Connexxion, Arriva and Qbuzz in other areas.
#6 WATERBUS
Due to the convergence of several large waterways in the area south of Rotterdam, public transport by water is an efficient means of travel. Waterbus connects Rotterdam with the city of Dordrecht, along with the towns of Krimpen aan den Ijssel, Ridderkerk, Kinderdijk, Alblasserdam, Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Papendrecht, Zwijndrecht and Sliedrecht. A bicycle can be taken on the Waterbus at no extra charge. Waterbus route map
#7 BICYCLE
OV-Fiets are bicycles which can be rented at all major train stations in Holland. You use the same OV-Chipcard (universal travel card) used for train, bus, metro, tram and ferry transport. In order to access this service, you must load the OV-Fiets app onto your OV-Chipcard and then you are good to go. Reservations are not required. Simply select a bicycle and the attendant will scan the bar code on the bike as well as your card.
#8 WATERTAXI
In Rotterdam, Watertaxi transport is offered along the Maas river and offshoot waterways with nearly 50 boarding locations spanning from Kinderdijk in the east to the port of Rotterdam in the west and Pernis and Spijkenisse in the south. Rates are by distance. Extended transport can be requested for as far as Dordrecht. The watertaxi boats travel at up to 50 kph, are windproof and heated during colder months.
#9 FERRY
Ferries provide public transport across wider waterways in Holland. These include Amsterdam ferry lines that connect the city center with the North district across the IJ river, Maassluis-Rozenburg Ferry and Hook of Holland-Maasvlakte II Ferry (across the Maas river), Schoonhoven-Groot Ammers Ferry (across the Lak river) and the Enkhuizen-Stavoren Ferry (across the IJsselmeer lake) which connects North Holland and Friesland during the summer months.
#10 AIR
Scheduled airline flights are offered at several airports in the Netherlands. These include Schiphol Amsterdam Airport (AMS) (Europe’s third largest airport based on passenger volume), Eindhoven Airport (EIN), Rotterdam-The Hague Airport (RTM), Groningen Airport Eelde (GRQ) and Maastricht Aachen Airport (MAA). All offer flights to destinations in Europe. Schiphol also offers international overseas flights to destinations around the world. KLM is the Dutch national airline.
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