Issues and criticisms
The implementation of the OV-chipkaart system in all public transport systems in the Netherlands has proven to be a complex and time-consuming project. The process, which started in 2005 and was finally completed in 2014, has been plagued with cost-overruns, delays because of technical difficulties, planning and co-ordination problems, and resistance from consumer groups and politicians because of concerns over the safety and user-friendliness of the system, resulting in waning public support. Nevertheless, as passengers are becoming accustomed to the smart card system, recent surveys published by card operator TLS indicate that user satisfaction is increasing.
Passengers not checking out
Passengers travelling on pre-loaded credit must always check out at the end of their journey in order for the deposit, which was deducted upon check-in, to be reimbursed to their OV-chipkaart. While checking out is unavoidable at railway or metro stations closed off with ticket barriers, stations with free-standing validator units as well as trams and buses can be exited without checking out. An estimated 2% of occasional passengers and 0.5% of frequent travellers forget to check out. Even though passengers can reclaim their deposit, many are not aware of their failure to check out. In addition, the reimbursement procedure requires submitting a paper or online form with the transport operator concerned which some passenger consider too cumbersome in relation to the amount lost. An investigation commissioned by passenger associations showed that the check-out problem results in an estimated profit of nearly €23 million a year for public transport operators. About half of this amount would go to NS as the principal rail operator. Transport operators have questioned the validity of the numbers, claiming the total amount is not more than a few million euros and that they are willing to reimburse lost deposits. However, an NS spokesperson responded, "the travellers who have forgotten to check out have to announce themselves".
The counter-argument is that passengers, particularly by train, can check in, travel a distance that would be more expensive than the deposit amount, and then not check out, allowing the passenger to save more than if they had checked out at the station of destination. Furthermore, a passenger is able to check in at the departure station, cross the country, not check out and then dishonestly reclaim the money from NS as if she had travelled only one stop.
The check-out problem was one of the reasons the Rotterdam public transport operator RET began an experiment in March 2014 with travelling-on-account, whereby OV-chipkaart users do not need to pre-load credit or maintain a minimum balance for the deposit to be deducted, but instead receive a bill for their journeys at the end of the month.
Privacy concerns
Privacy has been a major subject of debate from the start of the OV-chipkaart implementation process. The OV-chipkaart system allows for collecting travel data and connecting those to personal data of passengers, thereby creating an opportunity for public transport operators and card operator TLS to track passengers or build an image of an individual's travel behaviour. Travel data are collected and stored by both TLS and the public transport operator concerned. Under the OV-chipkaart privacy policy, data are stored for a maximum of 18 months in accordance with the Dutch Data Protection Act.
After an investigation by the Dutch Data Protection Authority in 2007 of the effect of the system in the Amsterdam metro, it concluded that the Amsterdam public transport operator GVB violated Dutch privacy legislation by storing personal and travel data together. In response, GVB and other operators decided to store these sets of data separately. By doing so, the Data Protection Authority concluded, "the risk of the unlawful monitoring of individual people’s travel behaviour will be limited considerably."
Read the full text
In a lawsuit brought by a group of students against main rail operator NS in 2012, the district court in Utrecht ruled that NS did not act unlawfully by requiring students to check in and check out when travelling on their government-sponsored public transport pass, which could only by used when loaded on a personal OV-chipkaart. The court concluded that the rail operator had a legitimate reason for mandating the check-in process, because it was a reasonable way of ensuring that passengers have a valid title for their journey.
In 2012, the Dutch Data Protection Authority found that rail operator NS violated privacy legislation by using personal data for marketing purposes. Passengers wanting to use their anonymous OV-chipkaart to travel on NS trains were required to activate their card via the NS website. During the activation process, an e-mail address had to be provided which was subsequently used for marketing purposes. The Data Protection Authority stated that passengers travelling on an anonymous card may reasonably expect their anonymity to be respected. In response, NS decided to adjust the activation process in accordance with the ruling. Entering an e-mail address is now no longer required when activating an anonymous card for NS travel.
Security
Independent technological reviews and several hacking attempts continue to draw attention to the security and safety of the OV-chipkaart system. In 2007, students at the University of Amsterdam discovered several vulnerabilities in the disposable, single-use chipcard technology used by municipal transport operator GVB, which allowed for the cards to be reprogrammed for unlimited use. Card operator TLS was able to fix the software bug which allowed for such interference. German hackers reported later that year that the security code of the MIFARE Classic chips used for anonymous and personal OV-chipkaarts could easily be hacked with technology available for less than 100 euros. A security analysis by the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), commissioned early 2008 by TLS in response to the hacking claims, concluded that the MIFARE Classic chipcard should indeed be replaced because of serious security shortcomings, but that urgent migration to a more secure and better encrypted chip technology was not necessary because of the low value of OV-chipkaarts for criminal exploitation. A counter expertise review by the Information Security Group at Royal Holloway, University of London, commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, concluded that the TNO report underestimated (later acknowledged by TNO itself) the risk of more systematic hacking attempts in the future and the ease with which these could be carried out, as well as the loss of confidence in the system this may cause with passengers. The review recommended a replacement of all existing chip cards in circulation to be completed at the time the OV-chipkaart system was to be implemented nationally in 2009 and, in the long term, that phased migration of different card types to newer chip technology was important to keep the system future-proof.
When the Royal Holloway review was presented to the Dutch House of Representatives in April 2008, co-ordinating state secretary Huizinga expressed doubt as to whether the planning for the national roll-out of the OV-chipkaart and subsequent phasing out of the traditional paper ticketing systems, which was set to be completed by January 1, 2009, was still realistic. The government majority in the House nevertheless voted to continue with the roll-out process after a parliamentary committee visit to London where lawmakers had discussions with Transport for London officials and representatives of consumer organisation London TravelWatch about the technical features of the Oyster Card, which operates on the same chip technology. Nevertheless, it took until October 2011 until the phase-out of the traditional paper tickets for buses, metros, and trams was completed in all regions. Despite new publications that year of successful hacking attempts as well as fraud schemes, transport minister Schultz concluded that the card was safe enough to fully replace the thirty-year-old strippenkaart system.
Later in 2011, it appeared that TLS had started issuing a new version of the OV-chipkaart, which no longer uses the Dutch MIFARE chip but a chip manufactured by the German semiconductor company Infineon. In 2013, TLS reported that because of this new chip, fraud had been reduced to a minimum.
