In a bid to help encourage fewer single-occupant cars into the Tauranga city centre, Tauranga City Council has facilitated a deal with national e-bike distributor/retailer electrify.nz that has seen more than 50 council staff become the proud new owners of electric bikes.
The council negotiated the purchase deal on behalf of 52 staff as part of a bulk order from electrify.nz, along with 7 e-bikes that will be added to the organisation’s vehicle fleet. The initiative was facilitated by Tauranga City Council to make it easier for staff to get to work without bringing single-occupant cars into the city each day. Most of the staff who bought the e-bikes usually drove to work but were planning to leave their cars at home and ride whenever practical.
Martin Parkes, Transportation Manager, said that there was already a very strong biking culture at the council. “Between 40 – 60 staff ride to work regularly. E-bikes open up the possibility of biking to even more people. electrify.nz worked with our procurement team to make this deal possible and then engaged with our staff, helping them test ride and learn about e-biking options.
"At the beginning we thought 10 to 15 staff might take up the offer, and we got 52, most of those relatively new to biking. It’s been a thrill to see so many people get genuinely enthusiastic about making a change to the way they travel. It’s a win-win for staff, for the council’s fleet and for the city.”
Michael Tritt, electrify.nz Founder, said “At electrify.nz we know that every e-bike we supply takes someone out of a car for some part of their life, whether that is for commuting, leisure or general transport. Tauranga City Council recognised this fact and the obvious benefits for staff, the council and the community. Their leadership in showing how a large employer can improve the transport mix of our cities is awesome! Hats off to Tauranga City Council and to all the e-biking staff that we have had the pleasure of meeting and riding with over the last couple of months.”
Martin Parkes said, “We’re a large organisation and we need to lead the way in our individual travel habits. Every person on a bike, e-bike, or bus represents a tangible savings in car parks and it helps relieve the traffic flow. Riding to work can be a lot of fun. I've been commuting from Ohauiti since last year on an e-bike. I love it and I wish I'd started doing it a lot earlier.”
Pictured: Tauranga City Council staff with Keith Silkstone, Managing Director electrify.nz Tauranga