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Transport
Amsterdam has superb public
transport facilities. There are many trams, and good facilities
for cyclists, like special bike lanes, and traffic lights for
cyclists.
There is a national public transport information service: you
say when and where you want to go, anywhere in the Netherlands,
and they tell you how to get there. The telephone number is
0900-9292; it costs 75 cents per minute, though in our experience
the quality of the service is variable, especially considering
how much you end up paying for it.
Trams
The best way to travel is
by tram. They are frequent, fast and dependable. You can buy
a ticket from the driver, the conductor at the back of the tram,
or a machine in the middle of the tram, depending on the sort
of tram it is. However, it is considerably cheaper if you buy
a `strippenkaart' from a tobacconist, post office or railway
station beforehand, for f12 for 15 strips. On most trams you
stamp these yourself in the yellow machines in the tram: each
journey uses one strip plus a strip for every zone you travel
in. If you stay within the centre of town, that is one zone,
so you leave one strip blank and stamp the second. If you travel
over a zone border, you are travelling in two zones, so you
leave two strips blank, and stamp the third.
On some trams there is a conductor: you get on at the
back of the tram and the conductor stamps your ticket for you.
Once stamped, a ticket is valid for an hour, regardless of how
often you change tram or bus.
Several people can travel on one strippenkaart: you just stamp
it for the first person, and then for the second, and so on.
There are also day and week passes available.
Day and week passes and strippencards are valid on all trams,
buses and metros, and also on trains within the city boundaries
(thus not to Schiphol airport: then you have to buy a train
ticket). You must stamp a day or week pass the first time you
use it only.
You should hail a tram to indicate you want to get on.
Press the button near the door to open it. If the tram has a
conductor you must use the rear door to get on. You have to
press one of the red STOP buttons inside the tram to indicate
that you want to get off at the next stop (although there is
rarely a stop where no one wants to get out). Again press the
button near the door to open it when the tram has stopped.
There is a free map of all tram and bus routes in Amsterdam
available from tourist offices or the GVB office in front of
Central Station.
There is a special tram, number 20, which runs from Central
Station on a circular route that runs past many tourist attractions.
The trams run until just after midnight (the last trams
leave Central Station at 12.15). After that there is an hourly
service of night buses from Central Station.
Bicycles
The fastest way to travel is by bike. There are several addresses
around town where you can hire (rent) a bike, for very reasonable
prices. Traditionally, Dutch bikes have no hand-brakes, but
back-pedal brakes. If you think you can't handle this, ask the
hirer for a bike with hand-brakes.
When cycling, cross tram lines at a good angle to avoid getting
your wheel caught in the rail. For obvious reasons, lock your
bike to something solid when leaving it unattended, and lock
the frame, not just the front wheel (otherwise they unbolt your
front wheel, take your frame and someone else's front wheel,
and have a complete bike).
When hiring a bike, you will be required to pay a deposit, and
you should take some form of identification. Addresses:
Bike City
Bloemgracht 68 (Westerkerk), 6263721
Damstraat Rent
a Bike P Jacobszoondwarsstraat 11 (Dam), 6255029.
Macbike, Marnixstraat 220, 6266964.
and Mr. Visserplein 2 (Waterlooplein), 6200985
Taxis
Taxis are normally not hailed in the Netherlands, but
taken from a taxi rank, of which there are many (there is an
environmental advantage to this: taxis aren't constantly driving
round looking for custom). You can order a taxi by phoning 6777
777, or 0900-0724. A taxi will arrive almost immediately (though
be prepared to wait if it is raining on a Friday or Saturday
evening). Taxis are good quality but relatively expensive; around
f3 per km regardless of day or time. You don't need to tip more
than rounding up: they are already expensive enough.
Car
hire
Driving
in Amsterdam is not recommended. Even for longer distances it
is far better to take a train.
If you do need to hire a car, look in the Gouden
Gids for addresses of the normal car hire firms (`Autoverhuur').
Trains
Trains in the Netherlands are fast, frequent, comfortable,
punctual and cheap. Many stations have a taxi-sharing scheme
called "Train Taxis" which cost only f7.50: ask for a Train
Taxi ticket when you buy your train ticket. You can look train
times up online at the
Dutch National Railways (NS) site, though to be perfectly
honest the German Railways site
is better, especially for international travel (but don't tell
anyone we said so).
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