Transport and fleets on the streets of old Amsterdam

April 17, 2018
In town to test drive Mercedes-Benz's new Sprinter van, why not check out how fleets coexist in this busy European cultural center?

Perhaps nowhere in the world will you find the same convergence of bicyclists, pedestrians, commerce, boat travel, delivery vans, and heavy trucks as in Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands and one of the leading financial centers in Europe. The city has managed to stay afloat and evolve into its modern-ancient form despite actually being positioned below sea level.

Fleet Owner was there last week to test out Mercedes-Benz's new Sprinter van on Dutch roads. But before all that took place, why not venture out and see what's to be seen in this busy cultural center? Just don't fall into the canals as you wind your way down narrow lanes and alleys mixed with fast-paced main roads and roundabouts. 

It's a delicate dance of "live and let live" as each vehicle type zips along to its destination respecting — or not — all the others alongside the foot traffic that this city always has.

About the Author

Aaron Marsh

Before computerization had fully taken hold and automotive work took someone who speaks engine, Aaron grew up in Upstate New York taking cars apart and fixing and rewiring them, keeping more than a few great jalopies (classics) on the road that probably didn't deserve to be. He spent a decade inside the Beltway covering Congress and the intricacies of the health care system before a stint in local New England news, picking up awards for both pen and camera.

He's written about you-name-it, from transportation and law and the courts to events of all kinds and telecommunications, and landed in trucking when he joined Fleet Owner in July 2015. Long an editorial leader, he's a keeper of knowledge at Fleet Owner ready to dive in on the technical and the topical inside and all around trucking—and still turns a wrench or two. Or three. 

And he's never without a camera, or so rumor has it.

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