
Netherlands makes trains free on national book day for those who show a book - ohjeez
https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/netherlands-free-train-national-book-day-tickets-travel-tickets-ns-a8849606.html
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winkelwagen
It's a fun tradition. We like to complain every opportunity we can about the
dutch railways. But it could be a lot worse. Traveling on that Sunday by train
is always fun, because it feels that with a lot of companion travels you share
this love for books, creating a different atmosphere from traveling different
days.

"Boekenweek" is one of the most memorable "commercial celebration" weeks for
me at least, remember fun activities at libraries when I was a kid.

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rocgf
I don't have a lot of data points, but comparing the Dutch railway system to
the one in the UK, there is a very clear winner. The trains in the Netherlands
have a fixed price and are rarely delayed or cancelled.

Also, the OV-chipkaart is great - you can use the same card on trains, trams,
buses and underground across the Netherlands.

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amirmasoudabdol
Comparison with UK is going for an easy win. Dutch should compare their trains
with German or Japanese trains. Then, they suck!

If you use them occasionally you think they are amazing and much better than
most other networks but if you rely on them everyday then you quickly realize
how bad they are. Lots of random delays and unpredictable behaviors. Smallest
change in weather causes disruption. And they are actually expensive even in
comparison. (I cannot find the EU report that showed that, I’ll update the
comment with it)

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yread
I think the rail network just lacks redundancy. Everything is super efficient
with just single track each direction but when something breaks down a
replacement train (or an engine) is far away and won't fit in the busy
schedule.

Also there is so little space for luggage or prams.

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WJW
This has been a tradition for decades now, but the title makes it seem like a
new thing. Also, as renholder already mentions, you can only travel free by
train with the book you get as a present when buying a book during the yearly
"book week".

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renholder
The title is misleading: "A book" tends to inclinate that it's not a specific
book, which is the anithesis to the fact that the _Boekenweekgeschenk_ very
much is.

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hencq
Well you're not wrong, but not only is that in the article, it's literally the
next line below the title.

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timzaman
Once you experience the US public transportation system (trams, busses.. dit I
mention Caltrain?), one realizes how good the Dutch system is. Practically
none of my Dutch friends have a car. I don't know any one in the bay area
without at least one.

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randomsearch
The best thing about US public transit is that it makes UK transit look good
by comparison.

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ars
The specific book is: Jas Van Belofte

Which has pretty atrocious reviews on
[https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44283944-jas-van-
belofte](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/44283944-jas-van-belofte)

I used Google translate to check that it's not brigading or something because
of book week, but no, people really do seem to hate the book.

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11235813213455
Do e-books count? I hope so, they have the same capability or even better
(search), and no environmental impact

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Scarblac
Boekenweek is organised by book stores, if you buy a book in that week you get
an extra one free, the "boekenweek present". It's exclusively written for that
edition boekenweek and can be used as a train ticket on sunday.

E-books have great features no doubt, but people buy them online, and
traditional book stores aren't fans.

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skookumchuck
Sounds like a massive subsidy to bookstores.

Ironically, I bet people today read far more than ever, as that's how they
interact with their phones.

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Scarblac
Subsidy? I don't think there is much government money involved, except that
the railways are state-owned.

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skookumchuck
I don't know specifically about the Dutch railways, but government operated
utilities usually are subsidized by the taxpayers. It's certainly true in
Seattle, where the government transportation network operates at massive
losses made up by the taxpayers.

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Scarblac
In the Netherlands it's a bit complicated. The rail infrastructure company
(ProRail) is subsidized (just like e.g. highways), but the national railway
company (NS) that runs most of the passenger trains on it actually pays for
the privilege and isn't subsidized.

But this sponsorship just makes sense as marketing for them, they want to be
seen as a way to travel that can be combined with reading a book, since you
can't driving a car. That is not "massive subsidy".

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RickJWagner
They should give an extra day's travel if the book-holder is _not_ carrying a
smart phone.

