Fewer people in Amsterdam are buying popular mini cars such as the Birò since the council stopped issuing city-wide parking permits, the Parool reported on Monday
Six months ago, the maximum of 3,000 “park everywhere” licences was reached, and sales of the popular cars have plunged, the paper said. Parking permits for ordinary cars are issued for a few streets only.
Last September, the last month in which the city-wide permits were issued, 154 mini cars were bought by Amsterdammers. In January, by contrast, there were just 57 registrations, according to official figures.
By the end of last year, there were more than 4,700 mini cars in the Dutch capital – almost one in seven of the total number in the Netherlands.
Nationally, the biggest growth in popularity is in the wealthy Gooi region around Laren and Bussum, where they are popular with commuters and as second family cars, the paper said.
A basic Birò costs around €16,000 while an Opel Rocks can be had from almost €9,000. The cars are officially classed as “scooters” and require a moped rather than a car licence to use.
Another blow for mini car owners in Amsterdam is coming this week. Officials will stop them using the ferries which cross the IJ waterway between the north and south of the city, enacting a ban which came in at the start of this year.
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