Considering this film is 50 years old, whoever invented this should be congratulated for their amazing foresight. It needs redesigning but the idea (for 1974) is so futuristic.
@@brocktoon8- Well the trees in the film are in full green leaf so I guess it was shot during summer 1974, as it’s now October 2024 I make that slightly over 50 years ago.
@@AtheistOrphan According to the desctription it was broadcast on 17 October 1974. It may have been recorded 50 years ago to the day... 7 October 1974 was a Monday, too. There are now far more bikes around than back then. And I would not be surprised if several of the streets in the video are now car free (or will be within some years).
Not at all, it proves how de-evolved we are and that our current technology hasn't advanced in 50+ years The first electric cars were created over 120 years ago But the idea was suppressed in order for oil companies to continue making profit at the cost of our environment Video calls have been around since the early 1980's, if not earlier Touchscreen technology has been around since the 1970's/80's The first car phones were created in the 1940's The only thing that has happened is the technology has been condensed and refined to fit it all into a handheld device, which Nikola Tesla envisioned and designed in the late 1800's If you read more instead of watching UA-cam you would be aware that technology hasn't advanced much at all in the last century, and that our so called civilisation has become less civilised in the same period of time
The congestion problem in Amsterdam was dealt with by separating traffic streams. There are three streams: 1) Bicycles 2) Trams and buses 3) Other motor vehicles (usually cars) It's not that you cannot get into Amsterdam by car. You can, in fact still reach most places by car. But it's going to be a circuitous route, and if you find where to park at all, it's going to be _very_ expensive. However, because the streams are separated, a tram or bus is not going to get stuck in a traffic jam. Plus, trams and bicycles usually don't get into each other's way, which reduces the chance of accidents. If it weren't for the masses of tourists, Amsterdam would be an extremely liveable city.
Amsterdam had a white bicycle initiative in the 60’s. People would ride to their destination and then leave it for someone else to use. I guess thats were the ‘white car’ idea comes from.
Today we have shared bikes everywhere on every train station in the Netherlands. They're called OV fietsen. It is a great success and widely used. Especially by students who are riding trains from their home town to their university. The bikes are used for the "last mile" from train station to their destination.
The first actual Witkar project took place in Amsterdam between 1974 and 1986. While it provided daily service for more than 4,000 registered users over those years, the project never got beyond the limited demonstration phase due to a lack of support by government.
@@ThunderAppeal They either prefer their big, planet-killing gas-guzzlers or the cheaper, easier-to-maintain bicycles rode by people who have no right of way.
it must have worked somehow people in nederland is still riding around in stuff like this, unlike the rest of the workd maby people did not like sharring
@@deejaytracksuit88 I can tell there are far less roads for cars in the A'dam City centre compared to 2004. Parking is focused around Park and Rides around the A10 highway
@@DonGivani They have built quite some (very) large parking garages as well in the center. They are super expensive, of course, but you can park easily in Amsterdam center.
I remember them all parked at a charging station at the Oudebrugsteeg in Amsterdam. I always was very curious about them; they always were just parked there and I've never seen anyone driving one ever untill suddenly, they were gone. Good to know more about it finally.
Having to return them to a designated station, really just made them a self-driving bus. Also, was a bit pointless if you go to a station and none were there, or returning them to a station and the place is full up, was apparently also a major issue with them in the end. A nice idea, but, the technology just wasn't there yet.
Also - with that self-driving bus, could you really be certain you don't climb into one that's been used for means other than intended? Not sure I'd like to get in one...
@@jamesportrais3946What, like a sexual activity? Because you'd have no privacy, and there's quite a few other things in this setup that rely on the honor system.
Also, it has to be said that you can drive and park it anywhere, but it will charge you if you don't bring it back to a station. In that way, it really is bus-like.
@@jeptioak Well, that might have occurred to me, but sensibilities prevailed. I was more referring to the same use that good ole' British telephone boxes became synonymous with, and that time you regretted letting your paralytic mate stop for a kebab on the way home from a skin-full.
@@brocktoon8 No worries :) You can buy them over here too brand new for about £7000, but they're planned to be rented for 10p a minute in cities like London.
I still 'member seeing these while driving through Amsterdam at the back of my father's car who had a friend with an Italian restaurant. I still see them in my mind, standing in line at the charging-station and i've allways liked them!👍🏽🤗
I wasn't born back then (let alone been living in Amsterdam), but I'd've loved the idea! Currently I'm living in Amsterdam, don't have a car, do have a bike and a shared car subscription. It's so convenient that I have 5 shared cars to choose from, each within a few minutes walk, without all the hassle of owning one (finding parking space f.e.)! I am glad they improved the looks though.
im not sure putting all the cars on one rail was ever a good idea.. its could easy end up like those fancy automatic parking houses wont give you your car. because of a little technical problem from what people are saying the rails was also full some time, and you could not get rid of the car
Very interesting idea and far ahead of its time. Impressive. I think the Dutch did well since then by implementing an excellent infrastructure for bicycles. Generally speaking, I think the way forward to reduce traffic congestion is to have more public transport, more bicycle lanes, more pedestrian friendly designed city to reduce the dependance on automobiles overall and that includes all kinds of automobile types; internal combustion, electric and even the idea of self-driving cars.
Funny how this is now fairly common in Rotterdam, so I guess Amsterdam shouldn't be far behind. The new version has 4 wheels rather than 3. And you need a smartphone with the app.
In Amsterdam that didn’t happen though. What did cure all the car problems in 70’s Amsterdam was the bicycle. Go there now and you’’l not have all that traffic noise and congestion
This was never a thing, not even 50 years ago. It was an advertising stunt for a newspaper Parool, written in big bold letters on the top. It was basically a chopped up golf-cart with a wood frame top, aimed to draw attention to the newspaper.
I don't live there, but I'm guessing it didn't take off...BUT everyone seems to have gone back to using push-bikes, afterall, why re-invent the wheel? 😉 I wish they'd fix things in the UK, they're renting E-bikes for so much it's cheaper to take the bus. Simple, cheap push-bikes would work better?
google the dutch canta vehicle, and brommobiel it did take of to some extend the biggest problem with this model was with out a doubt sharring. i have a feeling there is alot more then 4000 cantas and alot more brommobiles then 4000
Yes. Huge anti-car movement after lots of pedestrian deaths in the 1970’s saw all these streets redesigned to be people friendly rather than gridlocked with cars.
they didn't exist when i visited in 2006 (and i just searched, and apparently they didn't exist past 1986). lol, there were mad bicycles there though!...waaay more than shown here.
@@ronald3836 thanks for the info! i *loved* the netherlands...it seemed to me the most "american" country i visited in europe (i.e., their pragmatism, and relatively lack of concern for traditionalism), though the dutch are much smarter than we are, as is evidenced by their move to bike friendliness.
@@andywatts8654 It's more like they congest the already congested bicycle racks in the city, or get parked in the most obnixious ways (though that problem is more about the mopeds/scooters than with the bicycles)
At that time most of tge bicycles sold in the Netherlands were Raleigh or others and most of the buses were British Leyland. How Britain has changed since Thatcher .
50 years later and the identical business model is used for the e-scooter rental market throughout the world. Identical in it's general unpopularity as well, plus it seems a financially doomed business to be in too, which I assume these were.
Bit of quirkyness, but really to keep the weight down more than anything. I wouldn't say dry dry though, did you see the gaps in the door when he closed it?
Some lovely 70s continental cars are shown on here , no im not referring to the white porta-loo on wheels , looks similar to the things you take a dump in on the building site.😅
@captainchaos3667 back in the UK in the early/mid 1970s, foreign cars weren't as prevalent as they are now ,and any car built in mainland Europe like Germany, France, Holland, Sweden etc were known as continental cars as they came from continental Europe.
Now we just expelled the cars from the city center. We make the cities more and more car unfriendly. More bikes, more public transport, more working from home. Problem solved.
Considering this film is 50 years old, whoever invented this should be congratulated for their amazing foresight. It needs redesigning but the idea (for 1974) is so futuristic.
Hey now! It's not 50 years old YET! lol
@@brocktoon8- Well the trees in the film are in full green leaf so I guess it was shot during summer 1974, as it’s now October 2024 I make that slightly over 50 years ago.
@@AtheistOrphan According to the desctription it was broadcast on 17 October 1974. It may have been recorded 50 years ago to the day... 7 October 1974 was a Monday, too.
There are now far more bikes around than back then. And I would not be surprised if several of the streets in the video are now car free (or will be within some years).
Not at all, it proves how de-evolved we are and that our current technology hasn't advanced in 50+ years
The first electric cars were created over 120 years ago
But the idea was suppressed in order for oil companies to continue making profit at the cost of our environment
Video calls have been around since the early 1980's, if not earlier
Touchscreen technology has been around since the 1970's/80's
The first car phones were created in the 1940's
The only thing that has happened is the technology has been condensed and refined to fit it all into a handheld device, which Nikola Tesla envisioned and designed in the late 1800's
If you read more instead of watching UA-cam you would be aware that technology hasn't advanced much at all in the last century, and that our so called civilisation has become less civilised in the same period of time
@@vdeovisuals you know very little about the development of technology, and I guess you are inclined to crazy baseless conspiracies.
The congestion problem in Amsterdam was dealt with by separating traffic streams. There are three streams:
1) Bicycles
2) Trams and buses
3) Other motor vehicles (usually cars)
It's not that you cannot get into Amsterdam by car. You can, in fact still reach most places by car. But it's going to be a circuitous route, and if you find where to park at all, it's going to be _very_ expensive.
However, because the streams are separated, a tram or bus is not going to get stuck in a traffic jam. Plus, trams and bicycles usually don't get into each other's way, which reduces the chance of accidents.
If it weren't for the masses of tourists, Amsterdam would be an extremely liveable city.
Yes there's an log of city's live that though
Amsterdam had a white bicycle initiative in the 60’s. People would ride to their destination and then leave it for someone else to use. I guess thats were the ‘white car’ idea comes from.
Today we have shared bikes everywhere on every train station in the Netherlands. They're called OV fietsen. It is a great success and widely used. Especially by students who are riding trains from their home town to their university. The bikes are used for the "last mile" from train station to their destination.
@@KneppaH 50 years ago
@@KneppaHwell the white bike was even more convenient considering it could be left anywhere and required no registration etc
The same guy was behind both initiatives
@@CrippleX89 that is a nice bit of information
The first actual Witkar project took place in Amsterdam between 1974 and 1986. While it provided daily service for more than 4,000 registered users over those years, the project never got beyond the limited demonstration phase due to a lack of support by government.
I think it is fair to say it was ahead of its time.
Not lack of support from the government but lack of interest by the public.
@@ThunderAppeal
They either prefer their big, planet-killing gas-guzzlers or the cheaper, easier-to-maintain bicycles rode by people who have no right of way.
it must have worked
somehow people in nederland is still riding around in stuff like this, unlike the rest of the workd
maby people did not like sharring
@@ronald3836it does look more heavy and stable then the ones used in nl today..
they look like a gust of wind could put them on the side
Great presenter William Woolard.
It’s honestly not the worst thing I’ve ever seen. Given when this came out a lot of these ideas have been looked at now and are still around.
This is actually a very good idea with the charging dock.
A much better idea is bikes and public transit, which thankfully Amsterdam chose.
@@anthonydpearsonthe two can exist in tandem.
@@mark9294 Shared cars everywhere also nowadays. And something similar to the charging dock is used for the electric buses.
And in 2024, bikes have the upper hand. Almost no cars in the city center
depends how you look at it. amount yes. but what about the space that cars take up (roads & parking spots, garages,…) vs bicycles or public transport
@@deejaytracksuit88 I can tell there are far less roads for cars in the A'dam City centre compared to 2004. Parking is focused around Park and Rides around the A10 highway
@@DonGivani They have built quite some (very) large parking garages as well in the center. They are super expensive, of course, but you can park easily in Amsterdam center.
The design not withstanding, the idea and execution was bang on ..
I remember them all parked at a charging station at the Oudebrugsteeg in Amsterdam. I always was very curious about them; they always were just parked there and I've never seen anyone driving one ever untill suddenly, they were gone. Good to know more about it finally.
Having to return them to a designated station, really just made them a self-driving bus. Also, was a bit pointless if you go to a station and none were there, or returning them to a station and the place is full up, was apparently also a major issue with them in the end.
A nice idea, but, the technology just wasn't there yet.
Also - with that self-driving bus, could you really be certain you don't climb into one that's been used for means other than intended? Not sure I'd like to get in one...
@@jamesportrais3946What, like a sexual activity? Because you'd have no privacy, and there's quite a few other things in this setup that rely on the honor system.
Also, it has to be said that you can drive and park it anywhere, but it will charge you if you don't bring it back to a station. In that way, it really is bus-like.
@@jeptioak Well, that might have occurred to me, but sensibilities prevailed. I was more referring to the same use that good ole' British telephone boxes became synonymous with, and that time you regretted letting your paralytic mate stop for a kebab on the way home from a skin-full.
@@jamesportrais3946 I guess, although drunk driving is always a problem in any car.
A shame these never took off, they're charming! I want one!
You seen the Citroen Ami? That's what the modern version in France is.
@@Larry Oh cool, I'll check those out, thanks!
@@brocktoon8 No worries :) You can buy them over here too brand new for about £7000, but they're planned to be rented for 10p a minute in cities like London.
If they took off, they'd be aeroplanes 😜
@@fr.mcgreer8349 😆
"Slowly being strangled by the motorcar" - this was _fifty_ years ago. They already had this insight, yet in most places it has only gotten worse.
I still 'member seeing these while driving through Amsterdam at the back of my father's car who had a friend with an Italian restaurant.
I still see them in my mind, standing in line at the charging-station and i've allways liked them!👍🏽🤗
50 years on and this type of transport has finally started to roll.
The electric car was before the gasoline car...
They gave it a good go lads.
There’s an interesting article on Wikipedia about the Witkar service and what happened to it.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witkar
This is incredible, such great foresight as this is so so close to how we operate in modern cities today.
Love to see all the other cars around the Witkar!!!
Opel kadett, ford taunus: the favourites back then.
looks like a mobile shower unit .
It also reminds me of the Popemobile.
Add a water tank, pump and shower head and you can speed up your morning routine by showering on the way to work 😂
Would have been convenient for people like Mr. Bean.
Under 30mph no wind resistrnce
With no shower curtain 😂
These charging docks look like a more advanced solution than the charging stations used to today for electric vehicles
I wasn't born back then (let alone been living in Amsterdam), but I'd've loved the idea!
Currently I'm living in Amsterdam, don't have a car, do have a bike and a shared car subscription. It's so convenient that I have 5 shared cars to choose from, each within a few minutes walk, without all the hassle of owning one (finding parking space f.e.)! I am glad they improved the looks though.
Brilliant! I like the charging rail - no cables, single-file. It has better ideas than modern rent-a-car systems.
im not sure putting all the cars on one rail was ever a good idea..
its could easy end up like those fancy automatic parking houses wont give you your car.
because of a little technical problem
from what people are saying the rails was also full some time, and you could not get rid of the car
@@Hansen710 The same happens with rental bikes that need to be locked into a stall. It happened to me once. I agree, it is a downside.
I see the weather hasn't changed. Still as rainy as today
I remember this being shown on UK TV.
The cost would be £1.38/min in today's money.
And now I drive almost the same electric micro car in Amsterdam.
This man had a foresight!
What micro car do you have ?
William Woolard always looked like a man from the future.
It’s a bit squeaky isn’t it?
.....yes - rattle & squeak.
@@robinvanags912😂😂😂
Light-weight compact Witkar 50 years ago and now they make heavy weight electric SUV's....
03:35 WIMPY!!!! lol that's what I got from this video :)
Didn’t Homer Simpson invent this?
I’m in stitches watching this 😂
Very interesting idea and far ahead of its time. Impressive. I think the Dutch did well since then by implementing an excellent infrastructure for bicycles. Generally speaking, I think the way forward to reduce traffic congestion is to have more public transport, more bicycle lanes, more pedestrian friendly designed city to reduce the dependance on automobiles overall and that includes all kinds of automobile types; internal combustion, electric and even the idea of self-driving cars.
Funny how this is now fairly common in Rotterdam, so I guess Amsterdam shouldn't be far behind. The new version has 4 wheels rather than 3. And you need a smartphone with the app.
Such a stylish gentleman.
I had to laugh when I heard "self-drive taxi" (as opposed to "self-driving taxi").
The witkar was a genius idea.. 50 years ago.. Dutch always ahead of the game..
meanwhile in london 20 years later came with the 2stoke peel50 brilliant .....................
Dutch engineering, finest in the world.
Would have been great if these had caught on and set an example for many cities around the world. So many lost opportunities.
Eat your heart out, Mr. Bean.
Citroen Ami mark 1.
nice gs too! but what is the oddity on the roadside at 1:21?!
Renault Twizy as well!
@@succulent951 A rubbish cart.
that citroen is a huge truck compared to the dutch canta
Instead, we now have gigantic suv electric cars used for 10 minute drives bringing kids to school.
In Amsterdam that didn’t happen though. What did cure all the car problems in 70’s Amsterdam was the bicycle. Go there now and you’’l not have all that traffic noise and congestion
I can totally see Monty Pythons in this :D :D :D :D :D
😂😂😂😂
Hard to believe that there are people so embarrassed by the idea of riding a bike that they'll invent something like this
This is still the most advanced to this day from this city.
Its funny cause now we have small black cars all over Amsterdam.
This was never a thing, not even 50 years ago. It was an advertising stunt for a newspaper Parool, written in big bold letters on the top. It was basically a chopped up golf-cart with a wood frame top, aimed to draw attention to the newspaper.
Is it a MK 1 Tesla ?
That worked out very well
No it did not.
@@RoderikvanReekum It was good old British sarcasm.
LOve driving these cars round Amsterdam, they're disused nowadays which makes it all the more exciting.
I don't live there, but I'm guessing it didn't take off...BUT everyone seems to have gone back to using push-bikes, afterall, why re-invent the wheel? 😉
I wish they'd fix things in the UK, they're renting E-bikes for so much it's cheaper to take the bus. Simple, cheap push-bikes would work better?
google the dutch canta vehicle, and brommobiel
it did take of to some extend
the biggest problem with this model was with out a doubt sharring.
i have a feeling there is alot more then 4000 cantas
and alot more brommobiles then 4000
Yes. Huge anti-car movement after lots of pedestrian deaths in the 1970’s saw all these streets redesigned to be people friendly rather than gridlocked with cars.
they didn't exist when i visited in 2006 (and i just searched, and apparently they didn't exist past 1986). lol, there were mad bicycles there though!...waaay more than shown here.
The bicycle made a comeback some years after the video was recorded. Back then Dutch cities were not yet bicycle-friendly.
@@ronald3836 thanks for the info! i *loved* the netherlands...it seemed to me the most "american" country i visited in europe (i.e., their pragmatism, and relatively lack of concern for traditionalism), though the dutch are much smarter than we are, as is evidenced by their move to bike friendliness.
@@ronald3836 you mean before the citys bacame hostile to cars
@@douglasharley2440 please dont tell us in europe we are like american
its not a nice thing to say
@@Hansen710 city centre should never have prioritised cars. It was a historical mistake that is slowly being corrected.
the idea was good but needed to be redesigned. nowadays in the cities you can hire electric mopeds and bikes (near the railway station)
Electric scooters are now the equivalent, dangerous as well🙄
Again the Netherlands that have beult this.
Small country can be great in.
Mini pope mobiles. The public e-bikes you see now are a good idea even though some people moan about them.
They probably moan because Amsterdam gets cold And wet AF
@@andywatts8654 It's more like they congest the already congested bicycle racks in the city, or get parked in the most obnixious ways (though that problem is more about the mopeds/scooters than with the bicycles)
dutch people moan about everything
A few years later we had Smart, years later electric cars and car sharing.
Tomorrows World pre Maggie Philbin was often interestingly good.
Looks very unstable especially on uneven road or high winds!
It looks it but if the battery is below the seats it'll have a really low centre of gravity.
@@smvsspould so when the wind can pick up big festival tents this is a safe location..
riiight
'Next week we're heavily into electric cars, basically in Amsterdam'
Combover man! I remember the fool well.
Upload the high quality Harry Carpenter and Mike Tyson program about past heavyweight boxers. The one on UA-cam is poor quality VHS transfer 😢
I Would Buy One Of Those PORTABLE SHOWER MOBILE'S Over A Tesla Any Day. 😃👍.
Those people were 50 years ahead of their time. Wonder what they would make now...
At that time most of tge bicycles sold in the Netherlands were Raleigh or others and most of the buses were British Leyland.
How Britain has changed since Thatcher .
Sometimes “Futurism” doesn’t age well.
But what actually saved amsterdams streets from gridlock again? Not this ridiculous thing, but the Bicycle
The "Homer" - now only in Amsterdam
😂😂😂
A phone booth married with a milk float.
Cave Johnson here,
Wow that aged well
and all we got is electric scooters
50 years later and the identical business model is used for the e-scooter rental market throughout the world. Identical in it's general unpopularity as well, plus it seems a financially doomed business to be in too, which I assume these were.
It keeps you dry and warm., i don’t know why it has to look like That tho?!
It was in the 70 ties
I guess design in the 1970s was a bit ‘out there’!
Bit of quirkyness, but really to keep the weight down more than anything.
I wouldn't say dry dry though, did you see the gaps in the door when he closed it?
@@Larry I mean much drier and warmer than the usual mode of transport these days -- the bike
Probably what you end up with if you try to minimize floor area (for increased mobility in tight spaces).
biro be like
The original Biro! 😂
Some lovely 70s continental cars are shown on here , no im not referring to the white porta-loo on wheels , looks similar to the things you take a dump in on the building site.😅
What is a "continental car"?
@captainchaos3667 back in the UK in the early/mid 1970s, foreign cars weren't as prevalent as they are now ,and any car built in mainland Europe like Germany, France, Holland, Sweden etc were known as continental cars as they came from continental Europe.
Good Idea wrong time
NO TOURISTS!!!
I was born in 1974
Toen was geluk nog heel gewoon..
tram with extra steps
No mention of the half hour range and 20 hour charge time
And I thought my dad's Daff 44 was the worst looking car ever.
Now we just expelled the cars from the city center. We make the cities more and more car unfriendly. More bikes, more public transport, more working from home. Problem solved.
The first Tesla
Flintstones.
A Bond villain's idea of the future.
And where they're? In 2024? .....
I wanna ride in the popemobile
I want to drive around in a blender!
😂😂😂😂
A really good idea, executed extremely poorly.
The reporter looks a like a posh Earnest P. Worrell
William Woollard.
He is a former fighter pilot and an excellent TV presenter.
He fronted Top Gear throughout the 1980s. He’s in his 80s now.
City's should return to be places for humans, not for cars with humans. Fortunately this change is in progress, even in Amsterdam.
En 50 jaar later reden de grachtengordelmeisjes en -jongens rond in de Biro
Get rid of all the bikes... Create the problem of too many cars...Try to fix the too many cars problem by ... Creating new type of car. Lol.
#agingwheels
bizzarre , the first electric !!
Een publieke Biro uit de jaren 70 😂