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Amsterdam's 'bike catchers' take away 150 bicycles a day

A record 55,000 illegally parked bicycles were removed from Amsterdam’s streets in 2011.

The Infrastructure, Traffic and Transport Service (Dienst Infrastructuur, Verkeer en Vervoer/DIVV) took away an average of 150 bikes a day for being parked wrongly or obstructively.

The figure represents a 65 per cent increase on the number of bicycles removed the year before.

Owners can retrieve their machines from the DIVV’s depot in the western harbour district, after paying a recovery charge.

Some owners criticise the system as heavy-handed, but the council says it is necessary to stop the city becoming cluttered with discarded bicycles.

Pieter Berkhout, from the DIVV depot, told local TV station AT5: ‘They get in the way, so to prevent dangerous situations arising the council arranges for the bikes to be removed.’

Source: AT5: Recordaantal fietsen weggeknipt

Photo by Udo Geisler