http://reducefootprints.blogspot.com
http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com
Instead of driving, riding a bike is a healthy and green activity. In Auckland, there are many cycle lanes. My son Sam rides his bike to school during the warmer months.
If you don't ride often, you may not want to buy a bike, instead you can rent one. In New Zealand, there is a company nextbike where you can rent their bikes. I was quite interested when I saw their stand in Downtown Auckland. There was no vendor to rent the bike to you.
In Auckland we have made up to 170 bikes available for you to get around on. The bikes are locked and released by making a call from a phone. They are located at rental stations at busy public sites and backpacker hostels in the major centers. You can take the bikes for a two minute trip to a nearby shop or for two weeks, you decide.
http://nextbike.co.nz/
1 comment:
Hi Ann,
The bike-for-rent business seems to be catching on, even here. However, I think governments will have to legislate to compel more users, especially in downtown city core areas where cycling has the best chance for a revival.
Companies which encourage their employees to cycle will face a disadvantage compared to their motoring competitors (imagine one person cycling to a meeting and another driving). The government must legislate to level the playing field if it wants to encourage more cycling.
We can’t leave it to the free market and hope that cycling as an economically viable alternative will take off. The reason why cycling lost out to the horse and buggy and then to motorcars is because it is less productive to cycle. And it IS still inefficient to cycle, compared to motoring.
Right now it is mainly the environmentally conscious who support more cycling. They do it for the environment, not because it is more efficient or productive. Hence the need for governments to remove the advantage enjoyed by non-cyclists by legislating bicycles-only zones.
Lets wait a bit and see what happens.
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