Smart bikes hit city streets

Christchurch has become the first city in the Southern Hemisphere to trial new smart bikes that could revolutionise public transport.

Transport Minister Simon Bridges was at the Christchurch City Council’s Civic Offices today to help launch the trial with Christchurch Mayor Lianne Dalziel and other invited guests.

Transport Minister Simon Bridges and Mayor Lianne Dalziel put their bike riding skills to the test.

Mr Bridges said the city was leading the charge when it came to transport solutions. "I'm incredibly excited about this. It combines some of the things I love most, technology and innovation and cycling and active transport, and puts them together and that's really, really cool. I've got no doubt that this is part of the future of Christchurch."

Two Nextbikes imported from Germany will be parked in the foyer of the Council building and made available for test rides. The bikes are able to read public transport travel cards and are equipped with GPS technology.

A travel card, such as a Metrocard which allows people to pay for bus journeys, is scanned by a reader on the back of the bike and an electronic lock mechanism on the bike is released. 

It’s the first time the smart bikes have hit streets anywhere in the Southern Hemisphere, but they are widely used for transport in European and North American cities.

The smart bike technology trial was awarded a Council grant of around $13,000 in June last year to facilitate innovative, low-cost and sustainable transport initiatives for the city. The grant was used for the purchase and shipping of the bikes and hardware as well as the software development required to integrate with the Metrocard.

The trial will help evaluate the viability of using the bikes, and provide user feedback on how easy it is to use the card to access the bikes.

Metrocard holders in central Christchurch workplaces, including Council staff and possibly those at Environment Canterbury, will be able to test ride the bikes over the next few months.

Combined with data gathered from the Christchurch Bike Share Pilot, which was launched in August 2015, the two projects will help determine the success of introducing a full-scale public bike share scheme for Christchurch.

Rob Henderson, who manages the Christchurch Bike Share Pilot, which already has 36 bikes available for hire at six stations around the city, said long-term bike share should be integrated with public transport and the smart bike trial is a big step in that direction. 

Ms Dalziel, said Christchurch was becoming a hot bed for innovation and sustainability and the smart bikes trial would help create a legacy for the city. She described the bikes as part of a "virtuous cycle". 

At today's launch Mr Henderson demonstrated how the scanning technology on the bikes would work before Mr Bridges and Ms Dalziel donned cycle helmets and rode the bikes around the foyer.