Yellow Backie Lets Tourists See Amsterdam From The Back Of Locals’ Bikes

Lately, media coverage on tourists in Amsterdam has been quite negative. Whether it is the disneyfication that is gradually transforming Amsterdam into a theme park, or the alteration of the city’s housing market as houses are being sold with the sole purpose of being rented out to tourists, it almost seems as if Amsterdam is not welcoming its visitors any longer.

However, some do see the positive side of all the tourists making their ways into Amsterdam. It’s a great opportunity to get in touch with new cultures, and to spread a positive image of a city like Amsterdam. This motivated bike rental company Yellow Bike to come up with a really clever idea, aimed at “sparking some love between Amsterdam and its visitors”: Yellow Backie: a yellow luggage rack (a backie) attached to an Amsterdam citizen’s bike, that is available for tourists to hop on and explore the city in a totally new way.

Think sightseeing or couchsurfing, but then on the back of a bike. For citizens, meeting new people from all around the globe has never been more easy. For tourists, this is maybe the most fun (and free way) to discover the city through the eyes of an Amsterdammer. Once you spot one, all you need to do is scream “BACKIE” at the top of your lungs, and make sure to hop on!

About 15 Yellow Backies are currently cycling around in Amsterdam, and it’s being expected that this will be around 200 bikes by the end of the year. If you are interested in installing a Backie on your own bike, just visit Yellow Bike’s website and apply for one. Oops, gotta run… BACKIE!