Price of public transport in the Netherlands to rise sharply in 2023

Prices are rising across the board - and public transport tickets will be the next to feel the effects of the rising rate of inflation. RTL Nieuws reports that the cost of train tickets will rise by 3 percent by 2023, while tickets for buses, trams and metros will become 7 percent more expensive. 

Public transport tickets to get more expensive in the new year

With the price of energy reaching unaffordable levels, and food and drink continuing to get more expensive, it’s perhaps unsurprising that similar trends are on the horizon for public transport in the Netherlands. 

This week, RTL Nieuws reported that, as a result of rising salaries and rising energy and fuel costs, Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS) is expected to raise prices by 3 percent, while the price of bus, tram and metro tickets will go up by 7 percent in the new year. 

Dutch public transport operators reduce timetables for 2023

The price hikes come just as operators are settling on their timetables for 2023, with a number of services expected to be cut as a result of rising costs and staff shortages. "We don't want prices to go up at all, because services in 2023 will clearly be less than in 2022,” Freek Bos from travellers’ association Rover told RTL Nieuws. "Why should the traveller have to pay more for less?”