Amsterdam adds 2,000 rental mopeds and bikes to city streets

Amsterdam city council has cleared the way for a new bike rental company to set up operations in the capital, with a licence for 750 cargo bikes from mid June.

At the same time, scooter rental companies Check and Go Sharing will be allowed to park an addition 1,200 mopeds on the city’s street corners from April 1, more than doubling the number already in use. Check and Felyx currently have permits for 770 mopeds

The aim, the city says, is to encourage people to ditch their cars for public and alternative forms of transport and, officials say, measures will be taken to stop the bikes and mopeds causing problems by bringing in more parking bays and limits on bike numbers in busy parts of town.

An experiment in the Rivierenbuurt and Oost involving 110 Cargoroo cargo bikes has proved a success, clearing the way for a second company, Baqme, to operate city-wide. The bikes will all have a fixed parking space, the city council press release said.

There are currently almost 5000 bicycles, mopeds, cars and cargo bikes in Amsterdam which can be rented on the spot on street corners.

As yet it is unclear what the expansion of street rental services will cost the city in terms of policing and setting up new parking pays. Dutch News has asked Amsterdam’s transport chief Melanie van der Horst for details.