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11/1 Jurists want to stay in Oudemanhuispoort

8/2 Mayor’s portrait

8/2 Websites for social cohesion

7/2 Spreading tourism proceeds with difficulty

7/2 GroenLinks on districts: Be a man

6/2 Zuideramstel opens new office on Sabbath

5/2 The truth about integration

4/2 Wilders has little support on Amsterdam

3/2 Elite involved in neighbourhood

2/2 Johnnie Walker avoids taxes in Amsterdam

1/2 Rotterdam to tinker with district councils as well

31/1 Wooden rowing boats to disappear from Amstel

31/1 ZeeburgTV launched

27/1 Privacy activists to mess up loyalty card system

27/1 A few were still coughing, but that was an act

27/1 Chrisis in de Baarsjes

26/1 Youth have positive view of districts

24/1 Action groups call for Carmel and Jaffa boycott

24/1 PvdA members dismiss plan for districts

23/1 KLM takes on crisis with new uniform

23/1 District office not squatted

21/1 Merge districts

20/1 Closing squat bar Vrankrijk not necessary

20/1 Cleaners welcome new Schiphol director

18/1 Palestine at the Jewish Historical Museum

18/1 What is the right size for a district?

17/1 PvdA Oost against fewer districts

16/1 Committee: 7 districts by 2010

15/1 Soldiers may attend Afghanistan debate after all

15/1 Bait bike leads to arrest

14/1 Youth for Christ to republish vacancies

13/1 Paintings of the Zuidas

13/1 New Youth for Christ contoversy

11/1 Social cohesion initiative raises eyebrows

10/1 Fewer districts in 2010

10/1 Zuidas: People feel that we are losers

9/1 Fun on the ice - but not for all

9/1 Supermarket coupon fraud thwarted

9/1 I Amsterdam must remain exclusive

8/1 Use term Apartheid in every discussion

8/1 No city kiosk in Amsterdam yet

7/1 Snow

7/1 Fatima Elatik to run Zeeburg

7/1 Municipal managers to return to shop floor

4/1 Police: take photo of strange people

3/1 Gaza protest criticises politicians

1/1 Thousands to protest against attacks on Gaza

1/1 Mustapha Laboui leaves district council

 

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Cycling without a street map

3 October 2008 - As of next year, cyclists may be able to navigate Amsterdam with a route planner in their mobile phone. Cyclists' organisation Fietsersbond wants to develop the required map.

Motorists have gotten used to finding their way with a GPS navigation system. GPS for cyclists is on the treshold of a breakthrough, predicts the Fietsersbond.

GPS devices that can be used on a bicycle are already available for two to five hundred euro. However, most maps have been developed for cars and do not contain bicycle routes. Waypoint has created maps for cyclists, but these only contain recreational routes in the country.

The Fietsersbond is currently mapping bicycle routes for its online route planner, which is being developed by six hundred volunteers and funded by the provinces. Next year, the organisation hopes to make the maps available for mobile use, says spokesperson Kees Bakker.

The organisation may choose to develop a version for mobile phones rather than for regular GPS-devices. Following the example of the iPhone, more and more mobile phones have GPS now, Bakker explains.

Cyclists will be able to follow their route on a map on their telephone screen, or listen to spoken directions through their earphone.

The Fietsersbond route planner is currently available in Utrecht, Friesland, Gelderland and Drenthe. Noord-Holland recently agreed to fund the development of a planner for the province, but not for the Amsterdam City Region. The Fietsersbond plans to ask the City Region for a subsidy as well.

For the city of Amsterdam, there is already an online bicycle route planner available developed by Routecraft. Asked whether Routecraft is planning to offer a version for GPS, a spokesperson said that there are 'developments' but that she choose not to disclose them.

"Why not write about the online planner", she suggested.

On its website, Routecraft is offering a text-message service which apparently provides a static map with a route to a destination for 0.40 to 1.10 euro per message. However, "how the service operates and the effect on your mobile phone bill are currently not always predictable", the site adds.

Fietsersbond route planner, Routecraft

 

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