Amsterdam goes green with electric scooter taxis

Thursday, 09 Oct, 2012 0

New two-wheeled taxi fleet takes to the cobbled streets

The Hopper program is meant to be very flexible public transportation. In practice, it’s a network of electric taxis, except that the taxis are all scooters instead of cars (this is actually a good idea considering Amsterdam’s narrow, twisty roads).

The electric scooters drive at a maximum speed of 25 km/h and can go 130 km on a fully charged electric battery. Hopper’s main garage, replete with 100 scooters to start, crouches between TomTom HQ and Amsterdam’s central train station.

"Everything we finance has to contribute, one way or another, to a better quality of life because we think that profit should not come at the expense of the world’s most pressing problems, which is why we finance organic farming, sustainable buildings, arts and culture, and renewable energy schemes," said Maarten Thijs from Triodos.

<a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hdcoMeBZl5E#™ target=" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hdcoMeBZl5E#™ target=" _blank"="">"This particular loan customer (Hopper) has a very clever idea, but it’s also very simple and sophisticated, which is why we like it," said Thijs.

The scooters are high-tech, kitted out with navigation and tracking systems by the Dutch firm TomTom (TOM2.AS) and a Samsung (005930.KS) smartphone which is locked into the dash and a tablet on the back, which is used for digital advertising.

Valere Tjolle
VISION latest sustainable tourism special offer: Sustainable Tourism Marketing Guide
HERE<a data-cke-saved-href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hdcoMeBZl5E#™ target=" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=hdcoMeBZl5E#™ target=" _blank"="">

 



 

profileimage

Valere



Most Read

Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know

Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham

Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago

Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research

Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact

Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference

Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role

Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal

Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination

Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness

Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future

Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
TRAINING & COMPETITION
Skip to toolbar
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...