Cost of traveling on balance or with OVpay

If you want to travel on credit with your OV-chipkaart or check in and out with your debit card, read more about the costs or buy credit for your OV-chipkaart online.

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Costs of traveling on balance
Top up balance

Costs of traveling with OVpay
Age-related discount

Costs of traveling on credit

When traveling on credit, you pay a base fare plus an amount for each kilometer traveled. When you check in, an entry fee is first deducted from your balance. Upon checking out, the entry fee is refunded, and you are charged for the kilometers traveled and the base fare.

Entry Fee

To travel on credit, you need to have at least €4 on your OV-chipkaart for a bus ride. This is the entry fee, which can be seen as a sort of deposit. When you check out, the entry fee is refunded. For some longer routes, this amount is higher. Check the page for exceptional rates for details.

Base Fare

The base fare is set nationally. In 2024, it is €1.08.

Cost per Kilometer

The cost per kilometer is not set nationally and can vary by transport area. To find out the cost of your trip, plan your journey using our journey planner. The cost will be shown in the travel advice, or check the page for exceptional rates.

Top up credit

Do you have enough credit on your OV-chipkaart? Make sure to 'top up' your card before your trip. You need to have enough credit for the entry fee or the fare. To always ensure you have sufficient credit on your OV-chipkaart, choose automatic top-up.

Costs of traveling with OVpay

A trip with your debit card costs the same as a journey with your OV-chipkaart without any discount or subscription. The total cost of all your journeys is summed up at the end of the day and deducted from your bank account the following day as a single amount.

Age-related discount

Children aged 4 to 11 years and adults over 65 are entitled to a 34% discount when traveling on balance by bus.

What do you need to do?

You can use the age-related discount with a personal OV-chipkaart or when checking in and out with your debit card (OVpay).

If you travel with your personal OV-chipkaart, the discount is automatically applied. Your date of birth is on your personal OV-chipkaart, so the card will automatically calculate your age-related discount when you check in and out. Besides checking in and out, you don’t need to do anything else.

If you check in and out with a debit card and want to use the age-related discount, you need to activate it first. Read more about age-related discounts with OVpay.