As the warmer summer days are approaching, it’s a perfect time to change up your daily commute from sitting in traffic to fresh air in your hair. To help support the community as they reconsider their commute this summer, Tauranga City Council has partnered with locally owned business, Basestation, to create a covered and secure bike parking facility in the city centre.

‘Bike Stop’ opens on Monday, 6 November, at 28 Grey Street (next to the Te Puna Manawa library entrance), ready to provide an alternative parking option for city centre workers looking to switch out the car for their bike or e-scooter this summer.

The new bike parking facility will be open Monday to Friday from 5am – 10pm and have capacity for up to 78 bikes or scooters. Power points are available for charging e-bikes and e-scooters, and lockers are available on a first-in first-served basis. People wanting to try out Bike Stop can register now through the Basestation website. Once registered, an access code (or fob key) will be issued for users to access the secure facility when it opens on 6 November.

Gareth Wallis, General Manager:City Development and Partnerships says this is a unique and exciting opportunity to open the first bike and scooter parking of its kind in Tauranga and partner with a local business operator to manage the facility.

“As part of the revitalisation of Tauranga’s city centre, we are on a journey to a future that supports a more sustainable range of transport choices, such as bikes and e-scooters, where people of all ages and abilities can move safely and freely around the city. As we work towards becoming a multimodal city, we are always looking at opportunities to help encourage more people to reconsider their daily commute and look at cheaper and more sustainable ways to travel.

The recent ShiftHub initiative run by PriorityOne showed that businesses and the community want more city bike parking options, and partnering with Basestation has helped make that possible. It’s a privilege to be partnering with a local business and using their expertise in managing shared spaces, to create a seamless, user-friendly facility for the community.”

Steven Vincent, Co-Founder of Basestation says, “partnering with Tauranga City Council to set up and manage ‘Bike Stop’ has given us the opportunity to expand our current shared space offering and create a user-friendly bike parking system we know the community needs.”

“As a local Tauranga resident who works in the city centre, having a secured and covered bike park is going to be a game-changer for commuters like me, especially as we enter into the warmer summer months. Bike Stop is an ideal way for city centre businesses without adequate end-of-trip facilities to provide secure undercover bike parking for their staff",” says Steven.

To encourage the wider community to use alternative modes of transport, there will be a range of additional bike parking stands coming to the city centre in early 2024. Some of the new bike parking includes two relocatable bike shelters near the waterfront, which will fit up to 10 bikes and provide weather protection, new undercover bike parking at Thirty Eight Elizabeth (from early 2024) and under the new 35 Hamilton Street commercial centre (from mid-2024), as well as 20 bike parks with partial shelter at 160-176 Devonport Road (between First and Second Ave).

Gareth Wallis says Bike Stop will operate for an initial 18-month period and we will continue monitoring the use of the facility, as well as the additional city centre bike parking options and adjust as needed.

“We recognise the need to make biking an attractive alternative to driving, and ensuring we have sufficient bike parking options is essential as we move towards becoming a multimodal transport city.”

About Bike Stop:

• Location: The entrance is located at 28 Grey Streetand requires an access code or fob key to open.
• Opening times: You can access the bike parking Monday - Friday, between 5am and 10pm.
• Availability: There is capacity for up to 78 bikes or scooters and some power points for charging e-scooters/e-bikes – just bring your own charger.
• Security: Two security doors separate the bikes from the street outside, operated with an access code (or fob key) assigned to registered users. There will also be monitored CCTV cameras within the facility.
• Cost: There is a small cost of $1 a day for a bike stand inside the covered and secure facility. This helps contribute to the cost of managing the facility.
• Registration: Users can gain access by registering via the Basestation website: https://www.basestation.nz/

For more information about bike parking in the city centre click here.

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