Be aware: these are the rules around Liberation Day for holders of a student travel card

Liberation Day is on a Tuesday this year, but for the student travel pass, 5 May is not a weekday. Students need to bear this in mind if they wish to use their weekly or weekend passes.

Universities and universities of applied sciences are closed on Liberation Day, as it is a public holiday. Students therefore have plenty of time to go to a Liberation Day festival.

If they wish to travel by public transport for this, they need to take note: a weekly ticket only offers a discount, whereas they can travel for free if they have a weekend pass.

What counts as a public holiday?

The DUO student finance website (in Dutch) only states that students will receive a discount on public holidays with a weekly pass and can travel for free with a weekly pass. But what counts as a public holiday?

Everyone knows the deal with Christmas and Easter, but other holidays can be a bit of a grey area. Last month, all students could travel for free on Good Friday, regardless of their travel pass.

But that’s the only exception. Next Thursday, 14 May, for example, is Ascension Day. This is an official public holiday, so with a weekly travel pass, students only get a discount.

Last week was King’s Day, which was also a public holiday. So if students took the bus to the flea market, they had to pay with their weekly travelcard but could travel for free with their weekend travelcard. The same applies tomorrow on Liberation Day.

HOP, Bas Belleman