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by train
Travelling by train is the best way to get from Rotterdam to other cities in Holland, and trains leave many times an hour for Leiden, Amsterdam, The Hague, Haarlem, and many other places. You must buy your ticket before you get on the train, and can do so from the ticket counter, which may take a long time, or from one of the machines that take cash. If buy a ticket from the machine that you are going to use the same day, make sure that you choose the ‘alleen vandaag geldig’ option, which means “only valid today.” Otherwise, you need to stamp your ticket in a yellow stamping machine before boarding to validate it.
There are three types of trains in The Netherlands, some of which get you places faster than others. Intercity trains are the fastest and don’t stop very much, and Sneltreins also offer fast city-to-city connections. Stoptreins make frequent stops at smaller stations and are best avoided if you are not going to one of these.
Every train station has timetables clearly displayed in on yellow posters, organized by region and destination. There are also blue monitors displaying the next trains to depart. To find out clear travel information in advance, such as prices and times of journeys, visit the Dutch railways website, www.ns.nl.
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Rotterdam
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by bus
There are thirty-six bus lines which extesnively cover Rotterdam and the surrounding area. Buses go many places where trams do not, and are especially important at night (after midnight) when they take over from trams entirely. All public transportation in Rotterdam is run by the RET, whose website is www.ret.nl. It is only available in Dutch, but timetables can be found at the following link: www.ret.nl/?id=1328, if you select the type of transportation you wish to look up in the box.
On buses and trams, you can use a ticket called a strippenkaart, which you can buy from train stations, post offices, newsstands, and supermarkets. Strippenkaarten can be short (15 zones, for € 6.90) or long (45 zones, for € 20.40), and in both cases can be used several times. Discount tickets are available for children (ages 4 - 12) and seniors (over 65.) These tickets are red, while the regular tickets are blue. When you board the bus, present your ticket and tell the driver how many zones you need him to stamp. If you don’t know how many zones it is, just tell him your destination. After your ticket is stamped, you can use it again for free for a full hour after the time on the stamp, by showing the stamp to the driver. But you can only use it again to travel through the same zones that you already travelled.
You also have the option of buying your ticket on the bus, but this is more expensive. You can’t use strippenkaarts on night buses, as these cost more, and you have to pay on the bus.
There is also another new way to pay for pubic transport, which will soon replace the forms mentioned above. The “OV-chipkaart” is being introduced first in Rotterdam, and is a plastic card with a chip in it that can be bought from machines in the train stations, and loaded with money at other machines or “oplaadautomaten.” Once your card has money on it, you simply pass it in front of one of the card readers when you enter the bus or tram. But it is important to remember that you also need to pass it in front of a reader when exiting public transport. Otherwise you will be charged a full € 4 instead of the correct price for your journey.
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Rotterdam
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by tram
The eight tram lines in Rotterdam will take you most places in the city, and are often the easiest way to get around. Timetables and route information can be found at the following link: www.ret.nl/?id=1328, if you select ‘tram’ in the box. Trams start running very early in the morning and stop between midnight and 1 am, when nightbuses take over. Trams use the same kind of tickets as buses, described above.
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Rotterdam
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by metro
There are two metro lines in Rotterdam, the Calandlijn and the Erasmuslijn. They go through the city centre and also connect Rotterdam to surrounding areas, such as Schiedam and Spijkenisse. The metro is the fastest method of public transport. You can use either strippenkaarten or the OV-chipkaart on the metro, as described in the bus section.
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Taxis
Taxis are plentiful in Rotterdam and can often be hailed in the street. There are also fixed taxi ranks at the main train stations and at other places througout the city. Fares are calculated beginning with a basis rate to which a fixed rate for each kilometre is added. Common practice is to tip around 10%. Three main taxi companies are:
Taxi Rotterdam, +31 (0)6 51335755
Rotterdamse Taxi Centrale, +31 (0)10 4626060
Van Dijk Taxi, +31 (0)10 2620515
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by bike
The Netherlands is famous for its bikes, and biking is one of the very best ways to get around cities like Rotterdam, where most of the attractions are within easy biking distance of each other. Rotterdam has dozens of bike rental facilities, and you can get discount rates renting by the week or the month. There are bike lanes on all the main streets in the city, and biking is very often the quickest way to get anywhere in the city centre.
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Public Transport
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