On Dec 16, 6:26*pm, Arthur Figgis wrote:
Rupert Candy wrote:
Surely it's a tentative (and arguably over-optimistic) step towards
what the Netherlands has - a national smart card which is valid for
local transport anywhere in the country,

Is it not more a case of "what the Netherlands might have one day, if
they can get it to work, if Connexxion brings its ball back, if they
(=the colonial imperialist aggressors) can install ticket gates or
similar everywhere they will be needed, and if students don't make their
own knock-offs"?

Yes, I was perhaps being a little over-optimistic in my view of the
Netherlands (though the OV-chipkaart is now working on all modes in
Amsterdam, much like the Oyster and in a far more useful way than
Paris's Mobilis - i.e. including a stored fare element). Have any
other cities in .nl moved beyond limited trials yet? For a long while
you could only use it on the metro in Amsterdam.

It's interesting that the Nationale Strippenkaart has been such a
success both because of, and in spite of, its very low-tech nature.
Enforcement is harder than with a barriered system, and it must be
very inconvenient being a commuter with the foot-long version, but any
shop anywhere in the country can sell them without needing any
equipment, and the only special equipment needed at the point of use
is a humble date stamp. Perhaps we're trying to run before we can walk
by jumping straight into a national smartcard before there's any
uniformity or integration *whatsoever* between public transport in
different areas of the country.

Thoughtful of Shortlands