Third of buses and trams in Amsterdam were no-shows in September, study reveals

During random checks by the Society for Better Public Transport (Maatschappij voor Beter OV), more than 35 percent of GVB buses and trams in Amsterdam failed to show up in September. This includes trams 3, 4 and 12, and bus lines 22 and 48. 

Fewer than 70 percent of Amsterdam buses and trams show up 

During September 2025, the Maatschappij voor Beter OV randomly sampled Amsterdam buses and trams to see which ones arrived according to the schedule. The passenger organisation reviewed 51 tram and bus trips over 14 days evenly distributed throughout the month. 

Five GVB lines were the main focus, namely trams 3, 4 and 12, as well as bus lines 22 and 48. These lines were monitored on weekdays during the daytime, afternoon rush hour, evenings and weekends. “This makes the sample sufficiently large and sufficiently distributed across lines, dates, and times to form an indicative assessment of the GVB's performance,” wrote the passenger organisation.

Of the 51 trips that were supposed to take place, there were 18 no-shows - this is a cancellation rate of 35,3 percent. “We were shocked by GVB's poor performance. Whether the cancellation rate is 35 percent or, say, 30 percent, GVB's performance is unacceptable. And it has been for years,” said Voor Beter OV chairman Rikus Spithorst. 

“The cause of the massive cancellations is not a shortage of parts, but a staff shortage, partly due to high absenteeism caused by problems with the schedules,” explains Spithorst. “It is unacceptable that the shareholder and the supervisory board are letting this situation slide and leaving the management in its lurch.”

GVB criticises passenger organisation for not showing whole picture

GVB says that the sample figures don’t align with the company’s own trip logs. "The timing of the observation is decisive. We record trip cancellations structurally and comprehensively, based on the entire timetable,” a GVB spokesperson told Het Parool. “This provides a much more representative picture of performance, both over days and months."

With around 150 buses and 150 trams travelling through the Dutch capital during rush hour on weekdays, there are bound to be some cancellations. However, when looking at all the lines running, GVB measured a cancellation rate of 3,3 percent for trams and 4,9 percent for buses in September.

Cancellation rates aren’t the only problem though, as the passenger organisation also found that an average of 50 percent of tram drivers were unaware that their vehicle had a wheelchair ramp. "Even if they knew their vehicle had such a ramp, in some cases they had no idea how to unfold and secure it," said Spithorst. 

While public transport in Dutch cities such as Amsterdam has been saved from major budget cuts amounting to hundreds of millions of euros, other cuts still loom. This could have a bigger impact on the performance of GVB’s trams and buses in the future.