The “Kids for Nothing” pilot is a great success. More than 16,000 children from The Hague have now applied for the free OV chip card. The “Kids for Nothing” pilot, which allows children from The Hague aged 4 to 11 to travel for free, is being expanded. In addition to the free rides on the HTM bus and tram, children can also travel in and out of the city free of charge on the EBS buses in the Haaglanden Streek region from 5 April 2025. There is one small change: tickets for travelling on the EBS bus are only available from the driver.
With the free child ticket, children can travel on EBS buses on lines 30, 31, 37, 43, 44, 45, 46, 51, 144, 284 and 456, accompanied by a paying adult. The ticket is only available on the bus and is valid on the day of issue.
Alderman Arjen Kapteijns (Mobility) is enthusiastic about this expansion: “With this step, we make it even easier for children and their parents to use public transport. This fits in with our ambition to make public transport more accessible and attractive for all residents.”
More than 16,000 children have now applied for the OV chip card since the start date of 10 March 2024, which means that 32% of the number of children are already using this scheme. This is above the set target of 30%. In addition, we see that the share of applications from the Bouwlust and Vrederust, Schilderswijk, Morgenstond, Moerwijk and Transvaal districts is higher than average.
Travel conditions EBS bus
– The free “Kids for Nothing” ticket is available from the driver on the bus.
– You check in and out yourself with the ticket.
– The scheme only applies to the above-mentioned bus lines.
– The ticket is valid for 1 day and only for children from 4 to 11 years old.
– The child travels with a paying adult.
Travelling on the EBS buses is also part of the “Kids for Nothing” trial. Children can travel for free until the end of 2026, just like on the HTM bus and tram. There are now two options for free travel. For the EBS buses, you can get a ticket from the driver, while for the HTM buses and trams, you need an OV chip card. The OV chip card can still be requested free of charge.
More information (in Dutch)
Image & text provided by Gemeente Den Haag. Translation by The Hague Online.