With reporting by Janene Pieters.
The city of Amsterdam is beginning to crack down on unauthorized bike-sharing in the Dutch capital, traffic alderman and deputy mayor Pieter Litjens said to NL Times. The municipality is notifying unsanctioned bike sharing companies this week that they need to collect their bicycles off of city streets. Bicycles not recovered by these firms will be impounded by the city beginning in mid-October.
The municipality of Amsterdam will soon start removing shared bicycles left parked in public spaces, the municipality said in a press statement. Public spaces may not be used as a place of issue and bike sharing companies that do so are hindering city traffic by using up the already scarce bicycle parking, according to the city.
ProRail and NS are calling on the government to invest in better bike parking facilities at train stations. Existing facilities need to be better deployed and the use of public bike sharing must be encouraged, according to the two rail companies. Though bike sharing seems to need little encouragement - the demand for shared bikes was 35 percent higher in May than a year earlier, AD reports.
