New Amsterdam Project –

“What is that?” cried a curious little girl on the sidewalk.

At the New Amsterdam Project (NAP), inquisitive looks and questions are aplenty. Most come from sidewalk onlookers as they catch a glimpse the NAP TriCycle Truck, a heavy load carrying 3-wheeled cycle which adventures along the space on the road between car traffic and the pedestrians. With their start-up delivery business, NAP is attempting to replace internal-combustion vehicles for short term transport starting with a base in the Cambridge, MA area.

Spending the afternoon with the friendly and spunky NAP General Manager Wenzday Jane indicated an intense public interest for this project that is re-imagining the bicycle. On what is usually a slow Friday afternoon end of the week time, NAP was being featured on a country wide broadcast of National Public Radio (NPR) creating a frenzy of calls and e-mails to the office. (A car driving by even slowed by the office to exclaim they heard the story). A few locals dropped by to express their approval of the new business and others came with questions and inquiries.

NAP currently has five vehicles in their fleet, which are imported from Cycles Maximus, a specialty bicycle manufacturer in the United Kingdom. Riding the heavy duty tricycle is fairly challenging, in part because of the pedaling needed (there is an electric motor to assist with hills and starting up) and also due to limited amounts of bike lanes and large amount of cars parked along the street.

Although just getting their feet with in the Cambridge area, NAP already has found a steady stream of clients like Boston Organic and Taza Chocolate. The Founder and CEO, Andrew Brown is happy to capitalize on people’s desire to green their business and communities. To read more about how NAP is improving the livelihood of communities, check them on the web at www.newamsterdamproject.com