Car-lite living, could you? ??????

Kia ora Biker whānau,

How are you doing? We’re excited to be heading to the Local Government NZ conference in a couple of weeks where we’ll be awarding the?Big Street Bikers Breakthrough Bike City of the Year Award. Last year Christchurch was the winner of the prize which is handed to the city actively promoting biking and achieved great results in local communities. Who’s it going to be this year……?

Ljubljana - clearly not the winner of our award (as not based in Aotearoa), but a great city none the less.?

Try Living Car-Lite?

Have you heard of “car-lite living”? It’s a term getting increasing traction as people try to reduce car trips for health reasons, environmental impact and/or because petrol is getting so expensive.?

Contrary to some confusion ‘car-lite’ doesn't mean replacing your car and going everywhere by bus or bike. It’s about choosing to take the bus or train to visit friends and family or to hop on your bike to go to the local dairy instead of choosing the car by default. Some people are also choosing to sell their car completely, especially with limited use and the cost of repairs, insurance, petrol, parking etc. Fortunately in Aotearoa we’re seeing increased use of?shared cars?alongside the likes of?MEVO,?Zilch?and?Cityhop.?

Is it something you’d consider? In our office it’s our normal practice but it starts with just opting for the bike once a week or once a month. Currently it’s ‘Car Free July’ in the UK, a campaign encouraging people to leave their car at home.?Funmi and her daughter Grace gave it a try:?

“I’ve always been a driver at heart. After becoming a parent eight years ago, I became even more dependent on my car, thinking that it meant security for me and my child, almost like driving was my duty. I couldn’t imagine a world where I didn’t get around on four wheels, but that all changed when I tried going car-free. I switched my car for an electric family bike. Straight away, I enjoyed having a break from driving, especially on the school run.”

Not ready to reduce your car use? How about riding an eBike to get to your local shops to save some petrol? If a?grumpy, motoring journalist can gave it a try, so can you!

Definitions

It sometimes feels like a brave new world in transport circles with a bunch of terms finally becoming more mainstream.?

We thought it would be a good idea to make sure everyone is on the same page:?

Micro Mobility?(sometimes written as micromobility or micro-mobility)?is often used to describe eScooters but encompasses so much more. ‘Micro Mobility’ refers to any small, lightweight vehicles (less than 500kg), used for short trips (8km or less) and includes bikes, scooters, skateboards and segways etc.?It is not to be confused with ‘Electro Mobility’ which indicates any electric vehicle (including electric cars).?

?Mode Shift -?Mode Shift means getting people out of cars and into (or onto) other modes of transport. This can mean public transport (train or bus) or onto micro mobility like bikes, scooters etc or just plain old Shanks Pony.?

Hug a Locky Dock

Meet Christine, Cantabrian and a member of cycle group ‘The Cyclettes.’?

She got into mountain biking when she had some spare time after changing from a full time to a part time job. One of her new friends in the group had an eBike. Christine tried it once and there “was no looking back”.“The eBike came along at exactly the right time for people like myself. Semi-retired after working full time, I have met so many great women from this area. There’s always someone who wants to catch up outside of bike days. Our fitness levels are great, especially if we were not biking and what a great excuse to buy nice new cyclewear. Oooh, it’s ride day tomorrow!!”?

The Cyclettes often ride 20-30kms and often stop at the Artisan Bakery in Rangiora where they park up at the local Locky Dock.

“The Locky Docks in Rangiora are a godsend. We often use them as a group on a Wednesday (first in first?served !!) Artisan is a great halfway stop, to have a coffee and a chat, before completing the circuit and riding the stop banks of the Ashley River, back to Pegasus. There really isn’t any other facility that has those secure features.”

Thanks Christine!

You can send us your favourite Locky Dock and top cycling route to be included too. Just send an email to [email protected]

Interesting reads

Did you spot us in the New Zealand Listener a few weeks back? It's a must read by Russell Brown on everything eBike related in Aotearoa! He’s captured the landscape so well and includes comment from our own Cleve Cameron and Jessica de Heij.?

“Our Locky Docks are part of the transformation to eBike friendly cities: “It’s very much ‘build it and they will come....because if we’re wanting to hit those targets in the emissions reduction plan of reducing vehicle kilometres traveled by 20%, we have to really clear the way for these new choices in transport."

Read it here:

A new study "Health and Air Pollution in New Zealand" has found 3300 people are dying per year from air pollution.?Exposure is sending more than 13,000 people to hospital for respiratory and cardiac illnesses with the same number of children developing asthma. The social cost of these health impacts is estimated to be $15.6 billion.

Stuff has been running a?series of mode shift articles?which are all great. This one is a highlight?'giving people transport choices'; "Transport should be about selecting the right tools for the job. If the job is to move tiny groups of people in massive numbers of private cars then we should build more roads until we run out of space. If the job is to move many thousands of people smoothly round a city with constrained public space then we need to do things differently.

There has been an increase in cargo bike sales due to the high petrol prices and inflation.??“Cargo bikes are probably the fastest growing segment of the cycling market.” Dan Mikkelsen saw an uptick in cargo bike sales before this year’s jump in petrol prices, but says fuel inflation has “really given people the reason they need to consider it more seriously”.

Petrol is $3 a litre, but cycling is (almost) free.?Some great tips here from the Nelson Bikehub on how to get back on the bike as an adult. "If you haven’t been on a bike for a while", Bevan Woodward recommends sticking to shared paths and quiet streets. “Get a feel for that and slowly build it up,” he said.