Amsterdam public transport system to go bilingual

DutchAmsterdam.nl — Amsterdam’s public transport system is going bilingual, says economic affairs alderman Lodewijk Asscher.

Starting as soon as a few weeks from today, public transport information about malfunctions and delays — but also about stops of interest to tourists — will be provided in both Dutch and English.

Asscher, who this week wil present his plans to the city council, says bilingual announcements are needed on Amsterdam’s buses, trams and metro in order to provide a better service to tourists as well as the city’s large expat community. The alderman is further looking into the possibility to have metro stops listing brief information in English — such as ‘Royal Palace’ at Dam square, and ‘City Hall/Opera House’ at Waterlooplein.

The plan was first floated in August 2008, by Jan Paternotte, member of the Amsterdam City Council for the liberal-democrat party D66. At the time Paternotte, whose personal website includes an english-language section, said, “In Amsterdam English is accepted everywhere, except at City Hall. … However, English is undoubtedly the second language of the city, simply because it is the world language and a lot of American and British people live here or come over here for their holidays.”

Details on how to best implement the plan are still being studied in cooperation with GVB, Amsterdam’s public transport company. The GVB website already provides detailed information in English about the company’s services — including time-tables, fees, and the new ‘smart card’ transportation ticket.

According to Asscher the city council is currently also negotiating with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and Dutch Railways to encourage them to provide bilingual announcements on the route from the airport into the city, and to distribute an English-language guide to Amsterdam’s public transportation network.

Paternotte, meanwhile, has also suggested that Amsterdam follow Barcelona’s example and provide a police post in the city center where tourists or expats can report a crime in English, twenty-four hours a day.

Alderman Asscher says there are no plans for such a post, in large part because crime reports in a foreign language may be subject to legal restrictions.

Asscher does say that from now on all letters from the municipality of Amsterdam will refer, in English, to the city’s information phone number – 14020* — where official information can be requested and provided in both Dutch and English.

• Public Transport

* Within the Netherlands this number will work on both regular and mobile phones. If you need official information from the City of Amsterdam, and you are calling from outside the country, dial +31 20 624 1111.

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