This year, Luud Schimmelpennink will roll out the next generation of nonpolluting, energy-efficient public transportation in central Amsterdam - again. In 1965, the Dutchman seeded his city with white bicycles available for free crosstown trips. Although the project spawned similar experiments in college towns around the world, bike thieves thwarted most of these efforts. This time around, Schimmelpennink has reinvented the wheels, designing a fleet of 750 unique-looking white cycles that vandals can't cannibalize for spare parts.
He's also given the program an upgrade: Users can unlock a bike from the snap-in rack by swiping their Chipper smartcard (which locals already use for pay phones and parking meters). For 1 guilder (about 50 cents), you get 30 minutes of white line fever. A central server tracks the pedals and the pedalers. What's next? Swipe-a-car.
ELECTRIC WORD
Light Heavyweight
Seed Capital
Pedal Pusher
Commando Line Interface
Welcome To The Foam Age
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