Rental bike scheme an option for World Cup

Julian Hulls says his bikes are comfortable rather than sporty. Photo /

Auckland drivers may have to make room for Rugby World Cup fans to pedal their way to Eden Park in 2011 on a fleet of rental bikes made for comfort rather than speed.

Cycling enthusiast Julian Hulls has won support from the Auckland Regional Council for offering his bike hire scheme as a public transport option for the rugby festival, which will rely heavily on buses and trains to move crowds between the stadium and central city attractions.

But he admitted to the council's transport committee that his bikes, which have just three gears and solid suspension and wheels, were not particularly racy.

They were aimed at "making cycling ordinary", he said.

Mr Hulls has modelled his business Next Bike on schemes in European cities including Paris, which used public funds to put 10,000 rental bikes on its streets for the 2007 World Cup and has since doubled the number.

"It will put Auckland on a par with London, Paris and Melbourne," he told the councillors as he sought their support for an advertising funding application to the Auckland Regional Transport Authority.

Mr Hulls, who introduced his bikes to Auckland last year but has taken them off the streets for winter, hoped to expand the fleet from 70 to 170 for the next summer season starting in October.

He wanted to use advertising revenue to provide the first 30 minutes of each ride free before a $4 hourly fee kicked in.

Riders must provide credit card details when registering for the scheme before receiving combination numbers to unlock the bikes from designated stands around the central city, Newmarket and Mt Eden.

The transport authority is considering Mr Hulls' offer of advertising on 60 bikes for $56,000 plus GST as an opportunity to assess the bikes' potential as a public transport option for the World Cup. That would entitle the authority to $23,000 of ride "credits" to offer Aucklanders or visitors.

The councillors decided to recommend his model to the transport authority as an initiative for the World Cup and as "a public transport offer for Aucklanders".

"The idea of lots of people going by bike to Eden Park is really great," said Sandra Coney.

But she accused Tourism Auckland of not providing enough information to visitors about transport options.