The Witkars of Amsterdam—Born of Necessity
By “Awake!” correspondent in the Netherlands
IT WAS the first day of spring 1974 and, as usual, springtime brought new sights and sounds. But few residents of colorful Amsterdam were ready for anything so unusual. Dutch humor was honed to its sharpest trying to describe what appeared that day: “A mobile love seat,” “A high hat on wheels,” “A riding cheese cover.”
Just what were they watching?
A Witkar!
One look at the unusual, battery-powered vehicle and you easily understand everyone’s surprise. This little car—with its cozy double seat inside, its round chassis, standing, as it seems, much too high on its small wheels, and with glass all around—certainly did fill the picture of the jesting Amsterdamers. Where did such a peculiar idea come from?
It was born largely of necessity. You see, Amsterdam’s attractive downtown area is daily marred by 35,000 cars, parked in every available nook and cranny. This, along with hazardous driving in the narrow streets and the noise and pollution, annoys pedestrians. Yet, actually, only 1,500 of the 35,000 autos are in use at any one time. This fact spawned the idea for a traffic system designed to keep more vehicles occupied and not to be just idly parked.
In 1966 youthful radicals in Amsterdam organized themselves into a group called the Provos. Their aim was not violence but provocation against situations that irritated the public. One such condition was downtown traffic congestion and pollution. The passenger-car volume in the country has grown from 100,000 in 1949 to its present 2,500,000. This is quite a load for a country measuring only 15,000 square miles. The Provos came along with some very unorthodox and radical plans for solving this knotty traffic problem.
First, Luud Schimmelpennink, one of the organization’s leading figures, proposed special use of bicycles in the downtown area; but Amsterdam did not take to this suggestion. Then came his idea for the Witkar, to be employed exclusively for downtown travel. In 1967 Schimmelpennink discussed Witkars with a group of interested people. Most of those in the audience, many of whom were prominent citizens, said that they would never ride in such a “contraption.” But they were willing to contribute money for Schimmelpennink to build a working model of the car. In 1968 the model was ready.
The Idea Grows
With this model as a backdrop, Schimmelpennink then proceeded to unfold the Witkar plan in detail. First, the speed would be boosted to eighteen miles per hour. When completed, the Witkar plan would include 105 stations evenly scattered throughout the downtown area and totaling about 1,200 Witkars. This would mean that no station would be more than 500 yards from another.
The principle would be that Witkars would travel only between stations of one’s choice, these stations providing parking space for the cars and maintenance, including the recharging of batteries. Use of the Witkar would be limited to members of a foundation set up to manage the project. One joins the foundation for ten dollars; another ten dollars buys a key needed to drive the car.
A member who is downtown must first determine which station is nearest to him. Arriving at the station, where a car is available, he pushes his key into a slot in the selection panel. Each station is to house seven or more Witkars. The selection panel of each station is connected by wire to a computer at the main control room. The computer registers the number on the key, which corresponds with the number of the account at the City Clearance Bank. When the traveler dials the number of the station he wants, the computer ascertains if parking space is available at that station, and, if not, it selects another station near the one originally preferred.
On arriving at the other end of his journey, the driver parks the Witkar behind the last car in the row of other Witkars. A device on the roof of the car automatically connects with a railing to recharge the battery. Within minutes the power used in traveling between stations will be replenished.
The Experimental Period
From the time of the first appearance of the Witkar in Amsterdam in 1968, negotiations with city officials began. There was some reluctance on the part of officials; the police were the most skeptical, arguing that the eighteen-mile-per-hour vehicle would hold up faster traffic. However, the Witkar promoters came up with loggings to show that the average movement of traffic downtown was slower than eighteen miles per hour.
Hundreds of individuals became paying members of the foundation, including city councilmen. Large companies pledged help. Finally, permission was granted by the city to have just one experimental station with three Witkars. March 21, 1974, was the big day; the experiment began. It lasted for three months.
This three-month period was valuable for the initiators of the project. Many persons, including prominent citizens, took short round-trip rides on the Witkar, thereby advertising the project. At the conclusion of the experimental period, two Witkars rode a marathon lasting twenty-four hours. These cars covered a total of 276 miles at a cost of less than five dollars in electricity. The average automobile would have burned about eighteen gallons of gasoline while covering this distance in city driving.
The Witkar reduces noise pollution to a minimum when compared to gasoline-powered automobiles. Yet the Witkar is not entirely void of pollution. The amount of fuel oil needed to produce electrical current for the 276-mile marathon of the Witkar was (in volume) about half the gasoline needed for an average car. Overall, it appears that the total pollution from Witkars is less than that caused by gasoline-driven autos.
The experiment so impressed the authorities that the city of Amsterdam granted permission for two more stations to be completed in October and another two in December, making a total of five. In the meantime, the Ministry of Health and Environmental Hygiene granted a subsidy of $130,000, and other sizable donations came in from private sources. In this way the financing of the first phase of the project, five stations and thirty-five Witkars, is complete.
Amsterdam’s unusual project to combat automobile congestion and pollution is now in operation.