About NS and Their Travel Assistance Program

About NS and Their Travel Assistance Program

Nederlandse Spoorwegen (NS, “Dutch Railways”) is the largest train operator in the Netherlands. I’ve talked about them and their travel assistance program in my posts before, but I thought I would dedicate a full post to it. The assistance program works as follows: if you need help during your journey with NS, you must request assistance at least one hour before you take the train. They will then help you from the station to the train, and from your arrival station to a bus, tram, or taxi. They will also assist you if you need to transfer between trains. However, the main limitation is that it only applies to the specific train journey you booked. Let’s say you book assistance for a train leaving from Amsterdam Central to Utrecht at 16:30. If you miss that exact train, you lose your right to assistance. Even if you take the train 15 minutes later at 16:45, it doesn’t matter—you have to book assistance again and wait another hour. This makes the system very difficult to use. There are many reasons why you might miss your train. A bus might be late or not arrive at all, forcing you to wait for the next one. The same goes for trams. You could also get stuck in traffic if you take a taxi. There are many factors that might cause you to arrive slightly late at the station. If you want to be sure you make the train you booked assistance for, you would need to arrive at the station 30 to 45 minutes early, just in case something goes wrong. And even then, nothing is guaranteed. This effectively makes any train journey almost twice as long, if not more. This is the main reason I never actually use their travel assistance program. Instead, I rely on asking people around me for help. However, there is an even more serious issue with the program, and it’s the main reason I’m writing about this. If you don’t book their assistance service, staff can simply refuse to help you on the spot. I’m not talking about complex situations like transferring between trains—they can refuse to help with something as basic as getting from the gate to the platform. To be clear, I’m not talking about being asked to wait. It’s understandable that staff may not always be immediately available. What I mean is that they can refuse to help you altogether. This happened to me last week when I went to Rotterdam for a 10K run. I took an Uber to Sloterdijk station. The driver helped me to the station entrance but couldn’t leave his car unattended for long. We went to the NS service desk, where there were two employees behind the counter. When I asked for help, they simply told me that since I hadn’t booked assistance, they wouldn’t help me. This was around 07:15 in the morning, and the station was almost completely empty. The staff were just sitting inside, and there were barely any passengers around. I wasn’t asking for full assistance—just for someone to help me get to the correct platform. In the end, the Uber driver helped me to the gates, and I asked another passenger for help from there. The travel assistance program itself is one issue. In my opinion, it’s poorly designed and very inconvenient, so I choose not to use it. I would rather rely on the people around me. But what makes the situation truly problematic is that NS uses this program as an excuse for poor customer service. They have created a system where, if you don’t use their official assistance service, you effectively lose the right to receive any help at all. I’m not saying that all NS employees behave this way. Thankfully, many staff members are kind and willing to help, sometimes even without being asked. However, their policy allows employees who don’t want to help to simply refuse, and that’s a serious problem. I even called NS customer service that same Sunday while I was on the train. I asked whether employees are allowed to refuse assistance entirely—such as helping someone get from the gate to the platform—if no assistance was booked in advance. They confirmed that this is indeed the case. I made sure to clarify that this wasn’t just about having to wait, but about outright refusal to help in any way. They confirmed this again on the phone. This means it is official company policy. This is getting very close to an exclusionary policy from a company that receives significant funding from the state. No company should be allowed to get away with behavior like this—especially not one that is partially state-funded. I hope you’ve enjoyed the read and found it useful.  --- thank you for reading and being a part of my community, it means a lot! If you like this post and my content and wish to help, please share it with family and friends. Spreading the word always helps. 😊) And if your just visiting but not yet a member, welcome! Please consider becoming a free member. Just hit join for free and sign in, that way you get all the posts I make in your e-mail. I don’t bite, promise. At most I might hit you accidentally with my white cane. 😊) I also made a what’s app channel, should you wish to stay updated but you don’t really use your mail. follow on what's app [https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Vb6KFtrK0IBofhhu5j0i] if you really really like my content and your able to mis it, you can consider getting a membership starting from 1 euro per month. You can consider it as buying me a bottle of water every month. 😊) for stripe (ideal and other local payment methods): join here [https://buy.stripe.com/aFa9AS1Zr9u90OEa5ZcZa00] for patreon (PayPal, apple pay and creditcard): join here [https://www.patreon.com/14232348/join] if you don’t like memberships or subscriptions, you can also leave a one-time tip to support. You can decide the support amount yourself. “Leave a one-time tip” [https://buy.stripe.com/7sYbJ047zgWB0OE5PJcZa04] Thanks again for being here—it means a lot. 😊

let's talk about e-mail scammers

Edit: I’m experimenting with adding audio versions of my posts, generated using AI text-to-speech. Let me know what you think! Content warning: this audio fragment may feature English voices attempting to pronounce Dutch words—and spectacularly failing. It might also be quite funny to listen to. ** I use Odido as my internet provider, and ever since all our customer data was leaked onto the dark web, I’ve been receiving emails from people pretending to be the Centraal Justitieel Incassobureau (CJIB). The CJIB is an executive agency of the Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security. They handle the collection of fines and compensation payments on behalf of government bodies — including traffic fines, criminal fines, and other government claims. These scam emails are so poorly written it’s almost insulting to think anyone could fall for them — but unfortunately, many people do. So, I made a screenshot of one I received to break down what’s wrong with it step by step. this is the screenshot of the scam: First of all, the CJIB would never send an email directly to your private address. Government organisations simply do not do that. Period. “The CJIB never sends fines or reminders by email, SMS or WhatsApp; they always communicate via official letters or MijnOverheid” But let’s set that aside for a moment and look at the email address. Let’s say you panic a bit after seeing the title and open the mail. The name of the sender might say Centraal Justitieel Incassobureau (CJIB), but if you look at the actual email address, it’s just a random string of numbers and characters. That’s always a very telling sign. Even if you forget the fact that government agencies never send private emails, always check the sender’s address. Even if scammers aren’t as incompetent as these guys and use one that looks more official, it will still differ in a crucial way. Second, the tone of the message is very generic. I blurred my email address in the screenshot, but they actually addressed me by my email address — not my real name. They also never mention what violation I supposedly committed. They just claim I owe a fine that will be doubled if I don’t pay within 24 hours. The funniest part, though, comes at the end: one of the last lines threatens to revoke my driver’s license if I don’t pay. Oh no, how terrifying! Whatever would I do without a driver’s license? That would be such a huge change from my current situation… Honestly, with my level of sight, if anyone were actually stupid enough to give me a driving permit, it should be taken away immediately — and that person should definitely not be handing out permits in the first place, lol. Still, not every scammer is incompetent enough to threaten a blind person with losing a driver’s license. For everyone using Odido: most of our customer data has been leaked to the dark web — including names, email addresses, dates of birth, and more. That means more advanced phishing attempts may appear in your inbox. Never click on links or open attachments in suspicious emails. Preferably, just delete them. If you’re unsure about a message, contact the relevant government agency directly through its official website or phone number. I only opened this one to show as an example. Opening such an email usually isn’t very dangerous by itself, but it can let the sender know your address is active — which only invites more spam. TL;DR: Don’t read. Just delete.

patreon vs substack: accessibility and functionality

Edit: I’m experimenting with adding audio versions of my posts, generated using AI text-to-speech. Let me know what you think! Hello everyone, I’ve been exploring Substack all day to see how it works. I’ve also been using Patreon for years, even before I started this blog. So, I thought it would be nice to write a review of both platforms, focusing on accessibility and functionality. To start with the conclusion: Substack wins in terms of functionality—at least for my purposes—while Patreon wins on accessibility. Substack’s Accessibility Substack does work, I guess. You can do the basics: create a post, import subscribers, and set up a page. But saying it’s easy or enjoyable to use with screen readers would be a lie. Let’s start with the post editor. At the very top, there are two buttons—File settings and Done—that don’t seem to do anything when pressed. I honestly have no idea what they’re for. Then, there are two title and description fields, one at the top and one at the bottom. It’s not clear what each of them does or how they differ. When I asked an AI after taking a screenshot, it turned out that one is for metadata and SEO, and the other is for the actual title and body of the post or email. None of this, however, is clearly labeled. After that, there’s a Thumbnail section, which is fine. But right below it is a Close button that isn’t clearly marked for screen readers. It closes your post, but it’s oddly placed for such a key button. Another strange thing is that the interface is half in Dutch and half in English. It seems like there’s some kind of automated language detection that doesn’t fully work. Because of that, some labels I’m translating from Dutch into English might not match exactly for the English site. Then, there’s a Continue button that takes you to the publishing section once you’re done writing. There are also two oddly named buttons: Undo2 and Redo2. I have no idea why there’s a “2” there—there’s no Undo1, after all. Just bad labeling. When you get to the parts where you can add media—audio, video, and images—the labeling stays weird: Headphones add audio, Image add pictures, and Video add video. Some formatting buttons are also strange, with one lacking a label and just being called Button and another just having a “+” symbol. The “+” turns out to let you tag another creator when you press it. When you insert an image into your post, it shows up as a long HTTPS link instead of the picture itself when using a screen reader. And there’s no option to add alternative text, which is essential for accessibility. Thankfully, Patreon includes that feature. The video player is also a pain. There’s no clearly labeled play button—just one labeled “S,” which turns out to play the video. When it’s playing, there’s no obvious way to pause it. You have to focus roughly on the player area and press the space or enter key. Only then does the video stop playing and the video player’s full interface appears. All in all, Substack technically works—but that’s the best I can say about it. Patreon’s Accessibility Patreon doesn’t have all of Substack’s awkward issues, but it’s not perfect either. Converting a video into a podcast doesn’t work smoothly with screen readers. Some sections are difficult to edit, and your cursor can get stuck in the podcast area. When that happens, the only way to move back to other sections is by pressing Shift + Tab repeatedly to go past all the buttons and links until you reach your previous place. The podcast popup essentially traps your focus until you navigate away manually. There are a few other small issues, but nothing too serious. Overall, Patreon is much more accessible than Substack. Both platforms claim to care about accessibility, but it’s clear Patreon takes it more seriously. Functionality and Features Functionality-wise, Substack is stronger for what I do. I focus on awareness campaigns, and everything I share is publicly available. I don’t have membership perks—my tiers simply allow optional support. That said, Substack has several features I wish Patreon would adopt. I love that people can just sign up with their email, and that I can import contacts directly (with consent, of course). For awareness campaigns, reach is key—so the easier it is for people to join, the better. Patreon requiring users to create an account just to subscribe is a real pain. Substack also has much better discoverability. You can tag other creators, and likes or “restacks” help your content spread faster. There are just more tools to help you grow your audience. I also prefer Substack’s email domain format—it’s simply name@substack.com [name@substack.com]. Patreon is rolling out name@creator.patreon.com [name@creator.patreon.com], but that’s longer and not yet available to everyone. Similarly, Substack’s URLs are cleaner (yourname.substack.com [https://yourname.substack.com] vs. patreon.com/yourname). [https://patreon.com/yourname).] Substack’s stats page is also far more detailed and advanced. Same for the payment options: substack integrates with Stripe, which supports more payment methods than Patreon. For example, in the Netherlands, having iDEAL is a major plus. Without it, things get unnecessarily complicated. Also, Substack seems to be more widely known here in the Netherlands. Final Thoughts Accessibility remains a big factor for me. Patreon’s app feels much easier to use on iOS, and while Substack’s stats page is better, Patreon’s mobile analytics make it easier to see new free and paid members—including their names, not just numbers. Overall, Substack feels clunky to navigate with a screen reader, even though it technically gets the job done. Patreon just feels smoother and more carefully designed. I can accomplish the same tasks on Patreon in half the time and with half the effort compared to Substack. For now, I plan to post new content on both platforms. But I don’t think I’ll move all my old posts to Substack—it’s just too much work given the current accessibility limitations. I hope this review helps other creators with disabilities who use Substack and Patreon—and maybe even helps the teams behind those platforms improve further. That’s it for now. Yours, Ihab 💛 Enjoy my content? You can support me on Patreon or on Stripe for €1 a month—it really helps keep everything going! join here [https://buy.stripe.com/aFa9AS1Zr9u90OEa5ZcZa00]

when my exame became a meme

Hello everyone, I am planning to post an update about my last few weeks sometime this week, but I felt this deserves its own post because of how absurd it was. On the 13th of March, I had an exam for the course Academic Skills for Political Scientists II. And more than anything else, how shoddily it was organised made me realise that I am back home at the UvA. We were supposed to analyse a part of the GL/PvdA party manifesto. We had to read it and answer a bunch of questions about the argumentative structure. First of all, the text I was supposed to read was just plain missing. I am not joking — they gave me a USB drive with only the questions on it, not the text. I had to sit in the exam hall for about 15 to 20 minutes while they went around looking for the text I was supposed to be reading. Second, as part of the exam, we were supposed to have access to the slides from the tutorials as reference material. And guess what — one of the documents was just completely empty. They had documents titled Slides 1 t/m 6, and the document for the slides for week 1 was just completely empty. Thankfully, after I asked about it and they looked into it, it only contained the welcome slides anyway. And now for the really impressive part. For one of the questions, they had simply left the answer from the answer sheet in — complete with a points breakdown. So what the correct answer was supposed to be and how many points it was worth, what answers would have been partially correct and how many points those would have given, and what answers would just have been wrong. There was even a note at the end that the teacher wasn't sure what other answers could be correct, but that they could award points if someone gave a really well-argued answer that fell outside the scope of the defined answers. Honestly, at that point I didn't even care whether I passed the exam or not. I could have used the answer and gotten free points, but instead I told them about it. I let them take a picture to show to the teacher in charge. At this point, I just wanted them to know how badly they had screwed up. It is impressive in a way. How can you give someone an exam where they are supposed to read and analyse a text but forget to include the text, include one of the slide documents but leave it completely empty, and finally leave one of the answers from the answer sheet in the exam? Are you even taking yourselves seriously as a department or a university at this point? It is just so completely exhausting. Sometimes I feel like I am living in a badly scripted cartoon or reality TV show. Something with a cringy title like 'How a Blind Guy Went to University'. The plotline would fit perfectly — a blind student trying to study while everyone around them keeps doing the most absurd things because the institution simply doesn't have its act together. But this is my 9th year here in total. Sure, this is spread across two bachelor's degrees, but still — my 9th year. In the first season the plotline might still have been funny, but we are in season 9, and variations of the same memes are still being repeated over and over and over. At this point, it feels like one of those endless shows — the ones where the plot is below average, but because someone with money is still funding it, the show just keeps getting another season. So yes, we are back — back in black. My exchange in London gave me a taste of how much better it could have been, but sadly that went by all too quickly. I just hope the UvA finally stops airing this show and creates a sequel. A feel-good story where it is finally about growing on your journey through the gaining of knowledge, instead of living through a running meme. I honestly, truly hope so. Not just for me, as I am leaving soon anyway, but more so for the people coming to study here after me. It really can't go on like this.

Ihabs Vision in motion #9 31 12 2025w running commentary

Hello everyone, This is the video of my new years training run. To be honest, my motivation wasn’t that high. I was happy I got out of bed to do a run at all haha. This was on the 31th of December, About 3 km in westerpark. I had a festival that same evening as well. That wasn’t the biggest success, but I will tell you all the story in my next post, as it was an ‘interesting’ experience. I hope you enjoy! Yours, ihab