E-bike firm fights for space

Darleen and Chris Hoff-Nielsen on their E-Velo electric bicycles. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Eco-friendly bicycles struggling to find foothold on busy Waiheke waterfront.

Fold-up electric bikes are joining hilly Waiheke Island's transport fleet, about to be made busier by a new ferry service from Auckland.

But as the Explore Group prepares to launch its ferry venture with two vessels on Saturday - after delays caused by engine woes - a husband and wife hiring and selling electric bicycles are fighting for a foothold on a waterfront congested by cars, taxis and buses.

Chris and Darleen Hoff-Nielsen of eCycles NZ have to drive 1.3km to the Matiatia ferry terminal from their Oneroa bike shop to collect visitors wanting to inspect the jewel in Auckland's tourism crown by e-bike.

Danish-born Mr Hoff-Nielsen, who worked as an automotive engineer for companies such as Jaguar before moving to New Zealand last year with his Ngapuhi wife, has designed a foldable electric-assisted bike weighing just 19kg for which he is already fielding sales inquiries from overseas.

The couple met in Brussels, where Mrs Hoff-Nielsen lived for 17 years, adding an MBA degree to environmental science qualifications.

Cycle Action Auckland chairwoman Barbara Cuthbert says e-bikes are "a gift for Waiheke and a fabulous tourism-booster", especially given the steep terrain which leaves many tourists on conventional cycles puffing at roadsides.

Waiheke Local Board chairman Paul Walden has in a letter of support decried the absence of e-bike facilities at Matiatia as "a major gap" in transport opportunities".

Yet Auckland Transport, despite assembling a new team to promote walking and cycling, says there is no more space at the wharf amid more than 1.9 million ferry passenger movements a year.

"We encourage cycling on the island, but if we let one commercial operator in, we would have to let everyone use our limited facilities," a spokesman said.

But he added that the council body was reviewing commercial operations at Waiheke and other ferry terminals.

The Hoff-Nielsens say they are keen to keep working with established ferry operator Fullers, as well as newcomer Explore, to offer low-carbon transport to visitors and commuter. But they expect their more than 40 hire e-bikes to be especially useful to passengers of the new operation, given they will lack extensive bus connections available to those arriving on the hour on Fullers.

Explore managing director William Goodfellow says it has contracted a mini-buses operator to run a shuttle between Matiatia and Oneroa to connect with its services while trying to organise better longer-term connections, but having electric bikes available sounded "a great idea".

The council's infrastructure committee resolved on Tuesday to explore better access for the firm.