Amsterdam bans beer bikes amid complaints
Amsterdam has banned beer bikes amid complaints about rowdy tourists being drunk and disorderly.
A court ruling on Tuesday allowed officials to prohibit their use in the centre of the Dutch city, calling the contraptions a “public order problem”.
The bicycles are a popular way for tourists celebrating group events, such as stag parties, to travel around Amsterdam.
Critics say they have become an example of the problems caused by mass tourism.
The beer bikes are small carts that have been modified with bicycle seats arranged around a bar table.
Patrons power the bike as they pedal beside the city’s famous canals, while drinking beer.
‘Nuisance’
The ban came into force on Wednesday. A spokesman for the City Hall said operators were no longer allowed to rent out the bikes.
It comes after the Amsterdam District Court said “the beer bicycle may be banned from the city centre to stop it from being a nuisance”.
Last year, about 6,000 locals signed a petition calling on the council to ban the bikes, calling them a “terrible phenomenon”.
At the time, one resident told NOS news: “Our city has become a giant attraction park.”
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