Beer bikes are banned in the city of Amsterdam after several complaints of drunk and disorderly tourists causing problems. The beer bikes are a contraption that uses bicycling power to move the bike around the city. These bikes are often modified moving beer bars in which the cyclists can pour themselves a drink or a bartender will pour one for them. Tourists who often use these kinds of popular items are stag party tourists and Americans. Some cities in Belgium also have these kinds of beer bikes.
Banned bikes
According to BBC News, a court in Amsterdam on Tuesday said that the bikes were banned from the city of Amsterdam citing that the beer bikes were an example of mass tourism to the city.
The ban on the bikes is cited as a "public order problem." Many locals have complained about the bikes saying that it turns the city of Amsterdam into an attraction park. Around 6,000 locals signed a petition saying they wanted the bikes banned.
Tourists who come to the city are looking for cheap thrills, like buying drugs or trying to get into the pot shops that are only permitted for locals who live there. Some residents have stated that the tourists who come here, throw trash on the street or in the river and that many of these manners are not repeated when they go back home.
The ban did not go into effect until Wednesday, according to BBC, and stated that anyone who wanted to rent out these bikes were denied because of the problems that have occurred from tourists using them to travel and explore the city while drinking beer.
In order to counteract with those bans on beer bikes, the city has moved to increase hotel taxes to reduce the amount of budgeted travelers who come to the city. The increase in taxes would make it harder for large tour groups like stag parties to come to the heart of the city, but outside the city, there will be no increase in taxes.
Bike ban challenge
For many people who were visiting Amsterdam, the beer bikes were a way to combine beer and cycling which are the two most popular things related to the historic city, according to BBC journalists Anna Holligan. But the city won't miss the tourists who have used these bikes to see the city and enjoy the beer.
The problem that occurs with these bikes was that it was bringing in the wrong type of tourism said the local people who live in Amsterdam.
Amsterdam's former mayor agreed with the residents that the bikes should be banned. The judges agreed with the ban on Tuesday citing that the number of anti-social behavior within the city and the traffic disruptions that come up from the bikes cycling around the city were some of the reasons why they are now banned. The ban was challenged by Beer Bike operators saying that the courts are imposing on their freedom.