LUUD SCHIMMELPENNINK

Luud Schimmelpennink is the name of a Dutchman who thought up an urban transport system much simpler than his name. The vehicles are battery-powered minicars, about 1/3 the size of a regular car. They have a maximum speed of 30 km/h (a common speed limit in European cities, about 19 mph), and they travel between recharging stations in Amsterdam. To drive the vehicles, an Amsterdamer must be a member of the citysubsidized cooperative association that runs the system; $20 will buy a lifetime membership and a magnetically coded card admitting a member to one of the charging stations to unlock the first car in line at the station's charging rail. He then drives to the charging station nearest his destination, and on delivering the car, he is automatically charged for the time used - about a nickel a minute. Average driving distance is 1.5 miles, corresponding to a recharging time of 5 minutes.

The electric vehicles are virtually noiseless, relieve traffic congestion by conventional cars, and avoid parking problems. The claim that the system is pollution-free is not quite true, as it ignores the additional pollution coming out of the stack of the power plant charging the batteries - unless it is nuclear. Even so, the pollution is not only moved out of town, but also drastically reduced, since it is much more easily controlled in one power station than in many gasoline engines. Moreover, there are also significant energy savings, because central, largescale conversion is always more efficient.

The project was launched last year with only 5 vehicles, but no less than 2,500 Amsterdamers joined up to ride them, and there are now 5 charging stations with 40 vehicles; by the end of this year, there are to be 15 stations and 125 vehicles.

Only time will tell whether the initial enthusiasm will last; also, the compact European cities with their narrow streets do not pose the same problems as sprawling American cities with freeways.

But note one aspect of the Dutch approach: Cars were not legislated out of existence; the aim is to displace them by an attractive, competing alternative. An Amsterdamer retains his freedom of choice.