Beer bike ban in Amsterdam overturned in court

The controversial beer bike beloved by stag weekend tourists in Amsterdam has been given a reprieve by a court in the Dutch capital.

The council had planned to ban the vehicle from city centre streets by January 1, but the court said officials need to provide better support for their arguments. In addition, officials must also come up with a more careful assessment of the likely impact of a ban on the companies which offer beer bike tours, the court said.

By banning the bikes from the entire city centre, companies would have been unable to move the vehicles from their lock-ups to places where there is no ban, the court said. This would make it impossible to operate.

The ban was taken to court by the beer bike companies who said it would have a serious effect on their livelihoods. Council officials say the bikes are major nuisance in traffic, particularly on narrow city centre streets.