Around 270,000 people bought a Nederland Dal Vrij (“Netherlands off-peak free”) train pass in its first month on sale, the national rail operator NS said on Wednesday, and more than 80,000 of them had never held an NS season ticket before.
The pass, launched on June 15, lets holders travel by train as much as they like for €49 a month, as long as they avoid the morning and evening rush. Off-peak covers weekdays from 9am to 4pm and from 6.30pm to 6.30am, and all day at weekends and on public holidays.
The scheme is a temporary government measure meant to cushion the impact of high energy and fuel costs, backed by €118 million in state funding.
NS said the share of buyers who had never had a season ticket had climbed from about 20% two weeks ago to more than 30%, which it read as a sign that people who rarely take the train are now trying it. The biggest single group of buyers were 25- to 29-year-olds, at around 50,000.
The €49 rate is on sale until July 31 and the promotion runs to August 31, after which passes renew automatically at €127.95 a month unless cancelled.
