Start national campaign "Public transport is OK"

With the campaign "Public transport is OK", the public transport sector is again explicitly inviting travelers to travel by public transport. This multimedia campaign can be seen everywhere from Monday 14 September. A national public transport campaign on behalf of all carriers is unique and has never been shown before. “It is exciting, special, we have never done a national campaign of really all public transport companies before, but it is very much needed, because the corona crisis has left its mark on public transport,” says Pedro Peters, chairman of OV-NL. sector association public transport Netherlands.

During the intelligent lockdown, public transport continued to operate as a vital sector at the request of the national government. We kept the Netherlands mobile with almost empty trains, buses, trams, metros and ferries. In a national government campaign, we were urged to travel by public transport only if strictly necessary. The result is 90% fewer travelers. When the measures were relaxed in the Netherlands, we were again allowed to welcome more travelers on public transport. At the same time, the ongoing measures such as working from home and online lessons are still ensuring fewer travelers than before corona.

Peters: “It also appears that many people and companies do not yet know that they are again very welcome in public transport. Reason for all public transport companies in the Netherlands to set up a national campaign together. We would like people to experience again how pleasant and responsible it is to travel by public transport. ”

The focus of this multimedia campaign is on inspiring travelers to travel by public transport more often for various purposes and to inform them about applicable public transport measures. Peters: "With the cooperation of the travelers and, among other things, the educational institutions, such as wearing the mouth mask and traveling outside busy times as much as possible, we succeeded in traveling responsibly by public transport."

The green signal is central to the campaign. We know the green signal from traffic. A visually recognizable element that needs no explanation. If it is green, then it is OK. We set that green signal in the campaign at places throughout the country where we can and want to go back to social, recreational or business.

The average number of travelers in public transport is now between 50% and 60%, with peaks to 70%, of the number that we normally transport, whereby the costs have remained the same. Peters: “The future cannot be predicted, but with this campaign we want to show the traveler that public transport is okay. Wherever you go. It is possible with public transport ”.

The multimedia campaign "Public Transport is OK" will be shown on TV, radio, online and social media for the next three months. More information about the campaign can be found at www.ov-nl.nl/ov-ok.