Queenstown’s active travel group is inviting families to trial, for free, a week’s use of an e-cargo bike.
The Lightfoot Initiative, which promotes alternative means of transport to the car, has bought an e-cargo bike with support from Central Lakes Trust, and has been offering it to Queenstown Primary School families this term.
Through its ‘GoGo Electro’ project, it’s now inviting any family to sign up, from which it’ll select a school to base the bike in term 1 next year.
It’s also letting one lucky family borrow the bike for two weeks over Christmas.
E-cargo bike coordinator Michael Thompson says they’d like families to have the bike for a week so they can experience week-day commutes and also do more recreational riding over the weekend.
In addition to the rider, the e-cargo bike can take two kids aged between one and 12, or one adult, or, as the name implies, other ‘cargo’.
Depending on how far you go, you may need to charge it nightly, Thompson says.
Lightfoot co-founder Amanda Robinson adds: ‘‘Trialling the bike enables families to consider alternative modes of transport, and, of course, the e-assist makes travel on the bike a no-sweat experience.’’
To borrow the bike, or for more info, visit lightfoot.org.nz/gogoelectro
Free kids’ bikes
The Lightfoot Initiative’s also keen to give away some kids’ bikes to deserving families this Christmas, as part of its OneBike programme.
Lightfoot co-founded this programme with The Kiwi Kit Community Trust, which looks after new migrants.
Specifically, OneBike’s a recycling scheme where it ‘rescues’ bikes then fixes them so they can be reused.
To apply for a kid’s bike, see lightfoot.org.nz
