Amsterdam, one of the densest cycle cities in the world has a backstage problem most visitors and even residents are unaware of: the storage park where the city drops abandoned and illegally-parked bicycles has hit its limit, leading the city to take new measures.
The storage area, near the harbor, requires that bikes ‘towed’ off the street be picked up within six weeks, and owners are charged €2.50. There’s room for about 75,000 bikes a year, but this year’s figures are heading toward 100,000. Last year, 48,000 bikes were not picked up within the six-week limit; 75% of those were in bad shape. The city says most people collect within two weeks.
The new measures start with a cut from six weeks to four weeks in how long the city will hold the cycles, and a new rule that requires owners of rental companies, rather than their customers, to collect the bikes. The administration fee will rise from €2.50 to €25.00, which may increase the number of bikes never collected. But, for €15, the city will bring the bike to you if you can’t collect it yourself.
