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Published on March 1, 2008

Arriving back in my hometown of Amsterdam for a short holiday last month, I got quite a shock. Walking out of Central Station, fresh off the plane from Bangkok, I was met by a line of Thai tuk-tuks waiting for passengers. For a moment I thought my jetlag was setting in, but after rubbing my eyes twice, I realised I wasn't dreaming: The Thai tuk-tuk had invaded Holland. What was going on here?

It had been a while since I last took a tuk-tuk in Bangkok (for all the obvious reasons), but I just couldn't resist riding one in downtown Amsterdam.

My driver explains that his tuk-tuk has been imported from Bangkok and indeed a closer inspection reveals "THAILAND" stamped in big letters on the back of the vehicle. Significant modifications have been made to it though, he says, to meet European environmental and safety regulations.

The first difference I notice is the seatbelts - for passengers as well as the driver. Second is the noise from the engine, which is half as quiet as its equivalents in Bangkok. Last but not least are the fumes from the exhaust: I didn't smell any! 'Wow', I thought. My friends in Bangkok would never believe this.

The Netherlands is the first country in Europe that has tuk-tuk taxi's running through the streets of its major cities. The service has been operating for six months now in The Hague and Amsterdam with a total of 50 vehicles. Rotterdam and other cities will soon follow.

"A lot of people think they look really funny," laughs one Amsterdam resident. "I feel like a tourist in my own city".

The mini taxi's come in different colours - yellow, black, white, pink and blue.

"The tuk-tuks offer an inexpensive and fun alternative to get around the city," says Martijn Beversluis of the Tuk Tuk Company. He introduced the three-wheel taxis in the Netherlands with his business partner Geert Kloppenburg. "Geert was on holiday in Thailand a few years ago and has been fascinated by the idea of running tuk-tuks through the streets of Amsterdam ever since."

One of the major obstacles to this dream was the severe regulations of the Dutch Road Vehicles Agency. After two months of market research Geert and Martijn concluded that it was going to be a tough job to register tuk-tuks in the Netherlands, but not impossible.

In 2005 the Dutchmen took several research trips to Thailand. With assistance from the Dutch embassy they got an introduction to the tuk-tuk manufacturers in and around Bangkok, learning a lot about Thai manners and ways of doing business as they went. "We've found out that business in Thailand is very much about establishing relationships," says Martijn.

The Expertise Co in Samut Prakan was chosen as the factory that could deliver the tuk-tuks customised to European and Dutch standards. The vehicles have a different engine than the ones in Thailand and brakes on all three wheels.

But just like in Thailand, the Dutch tuk-tuks are rented by their drivers, who pay the Tuk Tuk Company by the day. The company also sells advertising space on the side of the vehicles. Passengers pay a fixed fare of ?3.50 (Bt160) per person - one of the differences compared to the Thai system is that you can't bargain. "It's a concept most Dutch don't like," says Martijn.

Prospective passengers can either hail a tuk-tuk in the street or order one by phone.

"In each city we get about 10,000 phone calls a month. At the moment we have the capacity to meet 50 per cent of these rides - it's been very successful so far."

With air quality a hot issue in the Netherlands, the technical university in Delft is currently developing an electric tuk-tuk. No doubt a greener machine will increase popularity even more.

Other customising touches have already been made to suit the Dutch lifestyle and climate. Some of the tuk-tuks in Amsterdam are equipped with a bicycle carrier, and heaters have been installed to cope with the cold winters. Who knows, maybe in time tuk-tuks could become one of Thailand's biggest export products.

Annelie Langerak

Special to The Nation