Editors note: when we first imported bikes we never really realized their profound utility as a bike share bike - partly because they're durable as hell. The City of Toronto was our first "B2B" client which was followed by many more. If you're interested in fleet bike programs we provide two excellent brands, both with high levels of customizability: Achielle from Belgium and Babboe from Holland. 

- February 2016

Today the City of Toronto has blessed the Dutch Bicycle as its official two-wheeled transportation vehicle. The City of Toronto Green Fleet allows city employees to run errands or move from office to office without paying hefty taxi or parking fees. Designed to reduce the cities overall carbon footprint, the bikes are a pilot program that functions as a prolegomena to the next big installation - a Velib style bike-share program.

Despite many offers from much bigger bike companies, Marco Lacampo, who runs the Smart Commute program, chose Batavus from experience. As a student at the Tilburg University in the Netherlands, he had first-hand experience with the durability, safety, and efficiency of a Dutch bike. The City of Toronto required a bike that could offer its employees a completely clean clothing experience, a safe and upright position, almost zero maintenance, and above all a rust free platform that could be stored outside year after year all winter. It's a fundamentally approachable and friendly bike to any new cyclist who wants to start riding but feels a bit scared. Finding such a bike in North America is simply put, nearly impossible - although that's changing rapidly. Finding such a bike in Holland is, well, as normal as finding a stand selling raw pickled herring.

The bikes feature a galvanized steel frame with a thick powdercoat paint, strong stainless steel rims, puncture resistant tires, a single speed transmission (the bikes will be used for trips no more than 3km long), a full chaincase, coatguard, rack, kickstand, lights and bell, and a quick release to quickly adjust the seat. It's the bike that the Dutch have been riding since 1905 and is still centuries ahead of most North American bikes. And the quality is pure Dutch too, made in Holland and able to last decades, even in Toronto or freezing European winters.

Are you interested in starting up an employee bike program? Give us a shout at 1.866.965.6582

(Photos by our own whiz-kid Brian Telzerow)