NS and TIER partner to offer e-bikes in NS App in The Netherlands

Credit: NS

As of 22 January 2024, NS has announced that it has introduced TIER‘s shared e-bikes in its app, offering a seamless and sustainable door-to-door travel experience. The collaboration aims to simplify travel planning, booking, payment and unlocking of TIER bicycles within the NS app, promoting convenience and sustainability.

Available to NS flex subscription holders and business travellers with an NS business card, TIER bicycles are strategically located in Utrecht, Bunnik, Odijk, Nieuwegein, Maarssen, Eindhoven and Veldhoven.

Ivo Steffens, NS Commercial Director, said: “We see TIER bicycles as a good addition to our range. For the first time, it is now possible for travellers with a flex subscription to use our app to grab an electric shared bicycle in the city and easily cycle to the station, office or another destination. In just a few clicks you can find a bicycle, open it with the NS app and cycle away.”

Using the NS journey planner or the Nearby function, travellers can locate and book TIER bicycles with a simple click. Returning the bicycle is equally straightforward, with transactions consolidated in the monthly NS invoice.

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This collaboration marks a milestone in Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) in The Netherlands, allowing users access to various modes of transport through a single platform. TIER is the first fully integrated service in the NS app, addressing obstacles of convenience and flexibility.

Nils Verkennis, Director of the Netherlands at TIER, said: “This integration with NS focuses on two important obstacles that many people encounter when striving for more sustainable travel: convenience and flexibility. Now travellers can easily find an electric shared bicycle to suit them in a single app to help them complete their journey to or from the station.”

Recognising that journeys rarely involve just stations, NS aims to provide a seamless door-to-door experience. TIER’s e-bikes complement existing options, with 39% of train passengers already using bikes to reach stations. NS offers over 500,000 parking spaces, 21,500 public transport bicycles and 120 electric public transport bicycles across various locations.

Technical integration has been made possible through collaboration with the Rivier platform, an initiative by carriers RET, HTM and NS, promoting a shift from ownership to usage.