Amsterdam party paddle boats approved over concerns

The Friends of the Amsterdam City (VVAB) fear the arrival of a beer bike in the canals, as the operator of the infamous beer bikes allegedly receives a permit for six paddle boats for 12 persons. Waternet intends to grant authorization for the amphibious paddle boats of 5.5 meters long, in which twelve passengers and a captain can sail. The bike will be able to launch into the water from an inclined ramp and then sail further. According to the applicant for the permit, tour operator Rondje Regio, who has been an operator of beer bikes in the city for years, the beer bike is being advanced in an innovative and sustainable way. The paddle boat will create a connection between tourist, water and bicycle. Walter Schoonenberg from the VVAB fears that the paddle boats will cause a lot of inconvenience in the Amsterdam canals. It will turn the city into an amusement park, he says. Such a pedal boat belongs in Disneyland, not in the Amsterdam canals. Ard Karsten from Rondje Region says that no concrete plans have been set to use the paddle boats as beer bikes, but he is not ruling it out.