Zeelandkaart

The Zeelandkaart is a telephone card, which canalso be used to pay with in shops, public transport and parking meters. The trial starts in 1995 in one town in the Dutch province of Zeeland. A year later the trial is extented to the entire province of Zeeland. It becomes at that point possible to use the Zeelandkaart at libraries, restaurants and tourist attractions. The trial stops prematurely in 1998 as it's possible to illegally recherage the cards.

Most card have a value of 25 or 50 gulders. These cards are (officially) not rechargeable. There is a personal rechargeable card as well. This card can be recharged in PTT Telecom telephone box. More than 200,000 non-rechargeable card are issued.

Research shows that the Zeelandkaart is mainly used by residents and tourists. Residents use the card in public transport, parking meters and shops. Tourists use the card in amusement parks, museums and restaurants.

During the test the number of bus passengers in Zeeland increases by 12 percent. Over 2002 buses are equiped with smart card hardware.