ABSTRACT
The last mile in the bicycle and train chain has always been described as the weakest link. Starting in 1940, rental bikes became available at stations in the Netherlands, but renting was cumbersome and expensive. It wasn’t until 2001 when the OV-fiets, thanks to contactless payment, made the rental process very easy. The search for ICT-based mobility solutions goes back to the 1960s. Provo anarchist Luud Schimmelpennink is known for the internationally famous White Bike. Less known is that he introduced his electric Witkar (White cart) in 1967. Inspired by the Bycyclen initiative in Copenhagen, he presented his DEPO bicycle with a docking system and the possibility of renting with a contactless card. This influenced the development of city bikes in Europe. Around 2000, Ronald Haverman and his ProRail team adopted some ideas from the DEPO bike with better chip card technology (NFC), an Internet-based rental system and simple, solid bikes. This created the OV-fiets with great ease of use at low cost. Since 2008, when NS took over the OV-fiets, the post transport bicycle has experienced spectacular growth. Nearly 6 million rides were made by 2024.
