Using the OV-chipkaart on the tram, bus and metro

Before you travel, check whether the e-purse balance is sufficient or there is a valid travel product on your card. You can do this at yellow Add Value Machines in tobacco specialty shops like Primera and in supermarkets like Albert Hein. Alternatively, you can hold your card in front of the blue balance readers in metro stations or on the metro stops in Amstelveen.

Is the e-purse balance on your OV-chipkaart insufficient?
First load your card at:

• a Ticket Vending Machine in metro stations and at metro stops
• yellow Add Value Machines in tobacco specialty shops and supermarkets
• web shop at www.ov-chipkaart.nl
• GVB Tickets & Info
• NS machines

Getting on and off = checking in and out

In the bus or the tram
There is a card reader near the driver. In the tram, it is near the conductor. Hold your card in front of the card reader. Did you hear a beep and see a green light flash? Then you are checked in. Checking out is done in the same way except that you use the card reader at the exit doors.

In the metro
The card reader is located on the right hand side of the entryway at the metro station. For route 51, the card readers are on the platforms for the metro stops. Hold your card in front of the card reader. If the gate opens or you hear a beep and see a green light flash then you are checked in. You can now walk through. You will do the same when leaving the metro station or at a metro stop.