Travelling by metro in Rotterdam starts at one of the 62 metro stations. Five metro lines, from A to E, ensure that travellers reach their destination. Station Beurs offers transfer possibilities on all lines.
The metro lines
The Rotterdam Metro Line A runs from metro station Binnenhof to metro station Vlaardingen West. During rush hour a metro departs six times an hour. Line A during rush hour runs further than Schiedam Centrum and stops in Vlaardingen West. Outside rush hour Schiedam Centrum is the terminus of line A. Line A and B run largely the same route, at Graskruid station both subways split up. Line B connects the metro stations Nesselande and Hoek van Holland Haven while the shorter line A runs the busier middle section of this route, Vlaardingen West and Binnenhof.
Metro line B has been known by this name since 13 December 2009. From 2019 the line will be extended from Schiedam to Hoek van Holland. Handy for anyone who wants to visit this coastal town. Please note that for the time being the final stop is Hoek van Holland Haven.
Metro line C runs from metro station De Terp in Capelle aan den IJssel to metro station De Akkers in Spijkenisse. This line of the Rotterdam metro runs in the centre of Rotterdam between Capelsebrug and Schiedam Centrum, together with lines A and B, while the line in Hoogvliet and Spijkenisse runs together with Line D.
Metro line D runs from Rotterdam Central Station to metro station De Akkers in Spijkenisse.
Metro line E is a metro line of the Rotterdam metro and is also part of RandstadRail. The line with a total length of 27 kilometres runs from The Hague Central Station to Slinge station in Rotterdam-Zuid and is operated by RET. There are metro trains running all day long on line E between The Hague Central Station and Slinge. Depending on the time of day, the metro runs 4, 6 to 9 times an hour. The first departs at 5.45 am and the last at 00.30 am.
OV-Chipkaart
To be able to travel you purchase an upgradeable OV chip card for Euro 7.50. The OV-chipkaart is an electronic payment card to travel by public transport in the Netherlands. For children younger than 4 years of age it is free of charge, for this target group an OV-chipkaart is not required. There are attractive discounts for over-65s and groups.
Given their age, children and people over 65 travel at a discount. In order to be able to deduct this discount, you must travel with a personal OV-chipkaart on balance. The discount applies to the basic fare and boarding fare.
If you do not plan to travel a lot, you can purchase a disposable OV chipkaart, which can be used for two hours of public transport, for Euro 4.50. There is a choice between a Personal Public Transport Smart Card and a Disposable Public Transport Smart Card. The one-time chip card offers a solution for people who have no plans to make frequent trips. Keep in mind the limited validity period for bus, tram or metro. Single-use chip cards are therefore particularly suitable for the occasional traveller. Unlike the one-time public transport chip card, personal public transport chip cards are only available for residents of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. The card contains the name, photo and date of birth of the holder. The OV chip cards can be purchased from RET, Connexxion and Arriva. More information about the OV-chipkaart can be found on the website 9292.nl and on ret.nl.
Tourist Day Tickets
Travelling is easy for tourists; there is a tourist day ticket. You buy a ticket and travel all day by tram, bus and waterbus in the entire metropolis Rotterdam The Hague.
Check and top up the balance
Check your balance online with the Saldochecker. This can be done by entering the 16 digit OV chip number.
Another very handy option is to choose for automatic recharging of your personal OV-chip card. This way you will never have any surprises and you don’t have to keep track of the balance on your OV-chip.
With automatic recharging, you will always have enough balance on your card to continue your journey. You can choose that as soon as the balance on your personal OV-chipkaart drops below € 0,00 a fixed amount will automatically be transferred from your bank account to your OV-chipkaart. The choice consists of amounts of € 10,00, € 20,00 or € 50,00 which can be used to top up. You can have the credit for your card transferred from your bank account via the website 9292.nl.
What are the advantages of automatic top-up?
You always have enough balance at your disposal so that you don’t unnecessarily lose time as a traveller. The other advantage is that you don’t have to wait at an automatic recharging machine. The procedure is very accessible, easy to stop requests. So you do not have to queue to recharge your card and the question of whether the OV chip card has sufficient balance is a thing of the past.
You follow these simple steps and that starts by checking in or out.
Your card is automatically charged at check-in or check-out. This happens if you do not have enough balance to pay the boarding fee or the fare. Your card will be charged immediately with your chosen amount of € 10, € 20 or € 50. So you can just check-in if there is little or no balance on your card.
The second step is charging. This is done by holding the OV chip card at a pole or gate where the balance of your card will be charged. This amount will be advanced and you will have to pay for it afterwards.
Checking in mandatory
The process of check-in and check-out is really easy. Checking in with the OV-chipkaart is done at the beginning of the journey by holding the card against the card reader of a gate or on a pole in a metro station. In the bus or tram, you hold it against a card reader. You do this again at the end of the journey and when changing trains. Fortunately, you don’t have to keep track of everything yourself, the technology does that for you because the card reader calculates what a ride has cost you and what discount you are eligible for. The costs are debited from the balance on the OV-chipkaart.
Regardless of whether you have a subscription, you will be checked in and out. This is necessary because at check-in it is not yet clear what the destination of the trip is. It is possible that the season ticket holder travels further than is allowed with the season ticket. Good check-in is mandatory for everyone, even if you travel with a season ticket or student card. If you do not check-in (properly), you risk a fine of at least € 54,00.
Useful to know that if you are a member of OVMiles you will only earn Miles if you check in and out during the journey. Checking in and out is, therefore, a must for OVMiles savers.
It’s almost superfluous to say but only when you check-in, you have a valid ticket for public transport. Those who travel without a valid check-in risk a fine.
We would like to give you a few points of attention about the use of the OV chip card to travel through Rotterdam. OV-chipkaart can only be used by 1 person during the journey. If you travel with more people, everyone needs their own card.
The advantage of using an OV-chipkaart is that the surcharge of € 1 for one-time tickets is avoided.
The OV-chipkaart credit is valid on all forms of public transport in the Netherlands and means that you do not have to buy a separate ticket for each journey – as long as you have sufficient credit. A minimum of € 4 credit is required for other forms of transport.
Do I have to buy an anonymous public transport chip card or stick to one-time tickets? If you are here for a short visit and do not plan to use public transport a lot, stick to the one-way tickets.
If you have a number of train journeys to make and plan to use other forms of public transport such as the tram or bus then it may be worthwhile to buy an anonymous €7.50 card. By estimating the amount of credit required, you charge the card at the time of purchase. This will save you time as you will not lose time queuing for tickets.
Personal public transport chip cards are only available for residents of the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. It contains the holder’s name, photo and date of birth.
Entry and basic fare
You avoid paying the full boarding fee by checking out. For passengers travelling on balance, a boarding fare will be debited from the balance at check-in. At check-out, however, the boarding fare will be refunded and the kilometres travelled will be charged. If there is no check-out, you as a traveller, therefore, pay the full boarding fare, which is not to your advantage.
How high is the boarding fare?
We give an overview of the current boarding rates. You can only travel when you have sufficient balance on your card. In case of a negative balance on your card, you cannot travel. Don’t have a balance yet? Don’t worry, this can be purchased online.
The fares for the bus, metro and tram are for an anonymous, personal card with discount hours € 4 See also the website of ov chip for more information for travellers on weekends and travellers with children.
Travel with barcode
RET offers a Barcode App with which you can easily purchase a mobile ticket for the metro in the RET transport area via your phone. This is ideal if you do not have a public transport chip card or if there is no vending machine available. With the barcode, you can check-in and out at the metro and show the ticket on your mobile to the driver or conductor. The RET barcode costs € 8.50 per day.
New app
A new app is ready to use for metro travellers. The app via 9292.nl is out of the beta test phase and is now gradually being introduced to the wider public. With this app, a route can be prepared in detail. Convenient overviews where the transfer possibilities are, how many minutes it takes to get to the station and especially on which platform you have to wait. Of course, the waiting time is also nicely indicated. If you have not yet downloaded the app via your play store, you can already view the route online on the website of 9292.nl. This can be done by entering the place of departure and arrival. The rest will be calculated and the amount to be paid will appear on the screen. To make it completely easy for you, there is also a button in the picture on which you can click to order your travel credit. A trip from the Coolsingel to Graskruid costs Euro 2.52. The walk to metro station Beurs takes 6 minutes and from platform 2 you get on subway line A in the direction of the Binnenhof. According to the schedule, the journey time is 25 minutes and all intermediate stops can be consulted.
Cycling is very popular. However, taking the bicycle with you on public transport is not a matter of course. Would you like to take your bicycle with you on the metro? In metro lines A, B, C, D and E it is allowed to take your bike with you, except on Monday to Friday before 09.00 hrs and between 16.00 hrs and 18.30 hrs.
Dogs on the metro
Dogs can travel in the subway for free. RET points out that other passengers must be taken into account and the dog must be kept on a leash both in the vehicles and at the stations. Seats are reserved for passengers and dogs are therefore not allowed to sit on the benches. For other pets, it is possible to carry them as hand luggage in a travel basket.
Smoking ban
Smoking is prohibited at stations, in vehicles and at stops. The smoking ban also applies to the e-cigarette or vaper. In case of violation, you risk a fine of at least € 95.00 This does not include administration costs.
Photography and filming
On RET stations photography and filming are not allowed unless you have permission from the RET. It is also not allowed to photograph, film or make sound recordings of the staff without permission.