Auckland Council has issued its first mobile trading licence for a dockless bike share system.
The licence, issued to Onzo, is for a trial period over the summer until 28 February 2018.
The council has worked closely with Auckland Transport to develop the licence conditions and a code of practice for bike share operators.
Auckland Council’s Manager Regulatory Compliance, Steve Pearce, says any bike share operator will need to apply for a licence before starting its service.
“Dockless bike share services are new in Auckland and we want to make sure they are safe and not causing problems on footpaths or being left in inappropriate places," he says.
“If there are any issues, we expect operators to remedy this quickly, and the licence allows us to enforce this.”
Auckland Transport’s Walking, Cycling and Road Safety Manager, Kathryn King, says AT is supportive of any initiative that encourages people to ride bikes.
“Dockless bike share systems are a great way for people to try bike riding, and we’ve already seen in the last few weeks that lots of people are giving the Onzo system a go," she says.
“We want anyone using a bike share service to be safe and we are requiring that bikes will be regularly serviced, and have lights and a helmet, to comply with the New Zealand Road Code,” she says.
“At the moment there are only a small number of shared bikes in Auckland, and over the coming months we expect the number of bikes and the number of operators to increase."
“We want to make sure the amount of bikes on Auckland streets is an appropriate number, so that there are bikes for people to easily find and use, while not causing access issues on footpaths.”
