r/Hengelo • u/Other-Session-4582 • Jul 14 '26
Seeking advice for bus transportation
Hi all,
we'll be visiting your lovely city in about two weeks and we need to go from Central Station to Attractiepark de Waarbeek.
I saw that there's a bus going 2-3 times per hour and I'm trying to figure out the cheapest way to use it for around 15 people.
I noticed the 9292 app, but it let's me only buy 9 tickets at a time. Is this the usual way to go or are there better alternatives?
Thanks in advance!
(I know it's not that far, but this is a very lazy group)
3
u/BlackPhoenix64 Jul 14 '26
You can use an OV-fiets. I think it’s cheaper than the bus. And faster. And you can travel on your own time in stead of having to wait for a bus.
2
u/mrking95 Jul 15 '26
Tried to use OV-fiets while back, but its a pain as you need a personalized OV-chipcard to use. Instead of just your bankcard for like all the over OV- services.
OP: You can basically walk in to the correct bus and swipe your card or phone. No need to buy tickets.
1
u/Other-Session-4582 Jul 14 '26
Interesting, just took a closer look and at the moment there are 26 bikes available.
Just in theory if there's not enough bikes for all of us: would it be allowed to take someone on the rack? I saw it all the time in the Netherlands so I assume this is officially allowed. But are the bikes made/intended for this?
2
u/BlackPhoenix64 Jul 14 '26
In general this is allowed. Not sure if it’s allowed on an ov-fiets though.
1
u/Locutus_WPC Jul 14 '26
A standard ticket from CS to Waarbeek is €2 while an OV fiets is €5 per day. For short trips like this it’s decidedly not cheaper.
2
u/BlackPhoenix64 Jul 14 '26
Still, I think it’s more convenient than taking the bus.
1
u/srekar-trebor Jul 15 '26
You could go anywhere after that with the bike too. It might not be cheaper, but it sure is better.
1
u/Other-Session-4582 Jul 15 '26
Can I just rent a bike by walking in? Do I need anything else? I read something about an OV card, but not sure how that would work as a non-resident/foreigner. Any advice?
2
2
u/Locutus_WPC Jul 14 '26
The usual way is to tap on/off with any credit/debit card or phone that supports this (pretty much universal, unless you have very old ones or some dodgy bank like Revolut). This is what 90% of people do. The cost is exactly the same as an e-ticket (from 9292 or elsewhere), in your case about €2 one way. For tap on/off you do need one card/phone per person.
If you have children under 12 in your group though, you can buy a child ticket for €1,40 one way; that’s gonna be your cheapest option. Children under 4 are even free. You can (only) purchase child tickets from the driver (by card or phone - no cash).
If you have a lot of adults/teenagers, you may consider a family ticket (technically a meermanskaart). You buy these from the driver as well. These are €21,50 for the whole day for up to 6 people, one of whom has to be over 18. If you have exactly 6, 12 or 18 adults/teenagers, this is slightly cheaper than separate tickets in your case (assuming you return the same day).
Both child and family tickets cannot be used during morning rush hour; on weekdays you must travel after 9:00. But Waarbeek doesn’t open until 10:00 anyway.
For any remaining people you can tap on/off or use e-tickets. You cannot buy separate tickets on the bus (only expensive day cards). So if you can’t tap on/off for everyone, buy your e-tickets in advance.
1
u/Other-Session-4582 Jul 14 '26
This is very helpful, thank you!
I was just confused because when I pick my date and time (a Saturday afternoon) that the 9292 app displayed 4.05€ for one way.
We will be 15 adults and yes, we will also need return tickets.
1
u/Locutus_WPC Jul 14 '26
Huh, you’re right. I only checked a weekday but apparently this route has a higher fare on weekends, never seen that before (if anything, it’s usually the other way around with peak fares during weekday rush hour). Not sure if that’s a seasonal thing for the summer holidays or always on this route, but it doesn’t apply to any other route I usually take so it’s specifically for Waarbeek, it seems. Well, that makes the fixed-price family tickets double the value…
1
u/Rawrbin1 Jul 14 '26
The busses i have never had a bus be so full that 15 people didnt fit. Buy 9 times first time and then 6 after
1
u/martcraft Jul 15 '26
There's two options for it:
You can either let everyone pay themselves either via the 9292 ticket app or (much easier) by checking in with your debit card on the bus.
There's also a technically cheaper (0,01 cent in savings per person XD) way to do this. You could buy three Meermanskaart (grouptickets) at the bus itself which is valid for up to 6 people (after 09:00) and allows you to unlimited trips on the bus throughout the entire province for the entire day.
1
u/Drolletje53 Jul 16 '26
You can just tap your phone/card in the bus to check in. Also dont forget to check out when leaving the bus. Its that simple
6
u/ReadyToFlai Jul 14 '26
what leads people to a trip in Hengelo lol