Sustainable

Amsterdam goes green with electric scooter taxis

•Tuesday, 9 October 2012•3 min read

Amsterdam goes green with electric scooter taxis

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.

"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
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