Operations
Regional bus strike on 14 October 2026: the IJ ferries keep sailing
By the Pont newsroom · Published:
Regional transport across the Netherlands strikes on Wednesday 14 October 2026. GVB is not taking part, so the IJ ferries run to their normal timetable, while most regional buses to and from Amsterdam stay in the depot.
During the regional bus strike on Wednesday 14 October 2026 the IJ ferries keep sailing. FNV and CNV are halting regional transport across almost the entire country that day, but GVB is not joining in and the ferries will run to their normal timetable. That is a significant difference from the national day of action on 9 September, when Amsterdam's own ferry skippers took part and not a single boat sailed. The distinction lies in the collective agreement: this action falls under the regional transport agreement, and city transport in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague is excluded from it. Anyone who normally reaches a ferry landing by regional bus will still notice the strike, because that bus is unlikely to run. This article sets out what does and does not run, what it means for crowding on the Amsterdam ferries, and why more action days may follow.
Why the regional strike does not stop the ferries
The regional transport agreement covers roughly 13,000 employees at regional operators and expired on 1 July 2026. After eight rounds of talks with the employers' association VWOV the negotiations stalled, after which FNV and CNV moved to industrial action. City transport in Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague is excluded from that agreement, because GVB, RET and HTM have their own terms of employment. Treinenweb reported explicitly on 10 October that GVB, HTM and RET are not part of these actions. For ferry passengers that means every IJ crossing keeps running, from line F3 between Centraal Station and Buiksloterweg to the ferries across the North Sea Canal. Amsterdam's metro, trams and city buses also operate as planned on Wednesday.
Which buses and trains are standing still on Wednesday
The strike affects the large regional operators: Arriva, EBS, Qbuzz, Keolis, Transdev with its Connexxion and Hermes brands, and RET Streekvervoer. According to journey planner 9292 that means almost no regional buses will run anywhere in the Netherlands on Wednesday 14 October. Because the agreement also covers drivers in regional rail, regional trains operated by Arriva and Keolis are halted too, while NS services continue as normal. Around Amsterdam this leaves passengers from Waterland, the Zaan region and Amstelland without their usual bus link into the city. Anyone who normally takes a bus to Amsterdam Noord and then boards a ferry will have to replan that part of the journey, even though the boat itself sails as usual.
What this means for crowding at Centraal Station
A national bus strike pushes passengers towards whatever still runs: trains, the metro, bicycles and cars. Those flows converge around Centraal Station, which is exactly where the busiest crossings to Noord begin. It is therefore quite possible that the ferries will feel fuller than on an ordinary weekday, even though the timetable itself does not change. Our figures on ferry use and crowding show how sensitive the crossing is to shifts like this, and during the morning and evening peaks the margin on the busiest departures is thin. Allow for waiting an extra sailing or two at peak times and plan a little more generously, especially if you cross with a bicycle. If your timing is flexible, the quietest crossings are outside the peak.
The Zaan region and the North Sea Canal ferries
For passengers from the Zaan region the split between city and regional transport is particularly noticeable this Wednesday. Connexxion's regional buses in the area are not running, but the Hem ferry F20 between Zaandam and Hempontplein is operated by GVB and keeps its normal times. Cyclists and pedestrians from Zaandam can therefore still use that crossing to reach Amsterdam West and the city centre. The same applies to the other North Sea Canal ferries, which are also GVB services and fall outside this collective agreement. It is worth remembering that a ferry without a connecting bus on the other side makes for a less complete journey than usual. Where you can, combine the ferry with a train or a bicycle rather than with a regional bus.
How 14 October differs from the ferry strike on 9 September
On 9 September 2026 the Amsterdam ferry service was shut down completely, because GVB's own skippers joined the national day of action. No ferry sailed at all that day, the North Sea Canal crossings included, and the city decided not to open the IJ tunnel to cyclists. The details are in our article on the confirmed full-day ferry shutdown on 9 September, and we described the aftermath in our review of the ferry strike. Wednesday 14 October is a fundamentally different case: the agreement being struck over is not GVB's, and no ferry cancellations have been announced. Do not confuse the two stories, because a national headline about a transport strike does not automatically mean the ferries are moored. It still makes sense to check live travel information on the morning itself, as on any weekday with disruption elsewhere in the network.
Weekly action days are possible until Christmas
FNV and CNV have made clear that 14 October need not be a one-off: without an agreement they want to hold a day of action every week until Christmas. Follow-up dates will be announced later and often at short notice, so passengers will usually get only a few days' warning. As long as those actions stay within the regional transport agreement, nothing changes for the IJ ferries in terms of routes, frequencies or landings. What does affect the ferry service in practice are GVB's own files, such as the measures around the skipper shortage and the timetable expansion in place since September. We collect new developments on both tracks on the news index, so that national industrial action and Amsterdam ferry news stay easy to tell apart. For live departure times per landing you can use one of the ferry apps alongside GVB's own channels.
Pont is not an official GVB product and is not affiliated with GVB, FNV, CNV or the City of Amsterdam. We summarise public reporting and official union information to explain what the regional transport strike means for ferry passengers. At the time of writing it is known that the day of action on Wednesday 14 October 2026 affects regional transport and that GVB is not taking part, so the IJ ferries will sail. Follow-up dates, participating operators and any regional exceptions may still change up to and including the day itself. Always check current departure times and official GVB travel information before you leave.