Dockless bike-share firm eyeing Tauranga
A dockless bike-share company is eyeing Tauranga as a potential location for future expansion.
Onzo was founded in Auckland a year ago and launched its yellow and black bikes in Wellington last Sunday.
Chief growth officer Min-kyn Jung said Onzo wanted to continue expanding into other New Zealand cities after a “positive reception” — 141,000 trips — in Auckland.
“We want to look at what we could do in Tauranga,” Jung said.
“Tauranga has one of highest rates of car dependence in New Zealand. A lot of car trips could be replaced if another option was available.”
He said the service was app-based and the bikes were dockless, meaning a user could just leave one wherever when they were finished with it, and it would stay there until the next person found it or located its position via the app. In Auckland, the bikes have been found in some strange places including up a tree, in the harbour and in a crater at Mt Eden.
Once the user paid for the time they needed — the rate is 25c per 15 minutes — the bike would unlock and they could ride off.
Jung said the company was looking to add electric scooters, which were allowed on footpaths, before the end of the year. He believed they would become more ubiquitous, and councils needed to plan to accommodate them.
Jung was invited to speak to Tauranga City Council’s transport committee this week, by its chairman, councillor Rick Curach.