Amsterdam to trial 20 kph cycle path limit, but no fines

Amsterdam will trial a 20 kilometres per hour speed limit on its cycle paths from September, but cyclists who break it will not be fined. The municipality of Houten will start a similar trial on June 8.

The pilots come from the national Cycling Safety Plan 2025–2029 but without the underlying national legislation needed to establish a legal speed limit for cyclists. The 20 kph figure is therefore a guideline rather than a mandatory, fineable rule.

The trial is a response to the rapid growth of e-bikes, fatbikes and electric cargo bikes on Dutch cycle paths. The Netherlands now has nearly five million e-bikes – two million more than in 2020 – the AD reported.

Some 80,900 cyclists ended up in hospital emergency departments in 2025, a 9% rise on the previous year, according to figures from injury research centre VeiligheidNL. The centre recorded 14,400 cases of brain injury among cyclists in the same year.

Marcel Ariës, an intensive-care doctor and founder of the campaign group Artsen voor Veilig Fietsen (Doctors for Safe Cycling), said that e-bike riders now end up in emergency departments five times more often than they used to, with injuries ranging from fractures to brain damage.

Amsterdam was the first Dutch municipality to push for a 20 kph cycle path limit, lobbying The Hague for legislation as early as 2023. The trial follows Enschede’s ban on fatbikes in its town centre in March and the government’s announcement last month of age limits and compulsory helmets for fatbike users.

Dick de Waard, professor of traffic psychology at Groningen University, told the AD that voluntary compliance might prove more effective than expected. “All these e-bikes have a clear speedometer. Cyclists can see how fast they are going and slow down,” he said.