Since 1 October 1980 one tariff system applies to bus, tram and metro in all of the Netherlands. The public transport service network has been divided into zones. A zone is an area usually 4 to 4.5 kilometres in diameter with a distinctive zone-name and zone-number. The fare for a trip is determined by means of the zone-system. Calculating the number of zones in an urban region (like Amsterdam) differs slightly from calculating the number of zones outside an urban region.
Calculating the number of zones in Amsterdam
Amsterdam consists of 12 zones:
- 5700 Centrum
- 5710 Zeeburg
- 5711 Noord
- 5712 Coentunnel
- 5713 West
- 5714 Zuid
- 5715 Oost
- 5721 Landelijk Noord
- 5722 Havens West
- 5723 Badhoevedorp
- 5724 Amstelveen
- 5725 Bijlmer
To determine how many zones a trip costs you should count the amount of zones from the point of boarding up to and including the most distant zone from that point.
example 1: Your trip begins and ends in zone 5700. The fare is one zone.
example 2: Your trip goes from zone 5713 to 5714. The fare is two zones.
example 3: Another trip from zone 5713 to 5714, but this time via zone 5700. The fare is also 2 zones. Both 5700 and 5714 are directly connected to 5713.
example 4: You get on in zone 5725, pass through zone 5715 and get off in zone 5700. Fare for this trip is 3 zones.
example 5: A trip from zone 5700 to 5711, then to 5712 and exit in zone 5713. The fare is two zones, but the same trip in the opposite direction would cost 3 zones.
Orientation
The zone-name and the zone-number are indicated at every stop and a map of the Amsterdam zone-system can be found at most stops. You can also get a free map with the zones on it at the GVB offices or from most drivers and conductors. As a tourist in Amsterdam you will most likely only be traveling in one zone, since the best known destinations are almost all in zone 5700 (Centrum).
Zones and tickets
Once you have found out how many zones your trip costs, you can work out how
many strips to stamp on your strippenkaart. The basic fare for every trip is one strip. For each zone one strip is added. So, a one-zone trip costs two strips, a two-zone trip costs three strips etc. The zone system is also used for other tickets like the 12-reizenkaart or the sterabonnement. The page about tickets contains more information about the usage of these tickets.
Zone matrix
With this matrix you can determine how much a trip costs from one zone to another using the most common route.
This rule can not be applied in urban regions, where there is a large number of possible connections. For this reason the calculation of the number of zones is different for the urban regions of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Den Haag and Utrecht. This is sometimes known as the Van Dam-principle.
