Moving flats? Ditch the car
Jonathan Coppard doesn’t own a car.
Nor does he want to.
The 29-year-old is trying to live car-free and even having to move his bed and all his other belongings won’t send him off course.
On Saturday he moved flats. Coppard along with his friends filled their cargo bikes with his clothes, electronics and other bits of furniture – as well as his bed, desk, chest of drawers and ‘‘five or six boxes of junk.’’ It was a sight that was hard to miss – a row of cargo bikes travelling from The Terrace, along the waterfront to Garrett St. ‘‘I’ve never owned a car, but in the past, I’ve had regular access to one,’’ Coppard said.
But after living overseas, Coppard said he could do everything he needed to do in Wellington without a car.
His decision was also an environmental one. ‘‘I did the carbon footprint calculator and saw how much CO2 emissions I was contributing to the planet, so I want to do my bit to reduce that,’’ he said. ‘‘Having a bike is my way of getting around and the only time I won’t use it is when I need to go somewhere like Upper Hutt – then I’ll take public transport.’’
Initially, Coppard planned to do the move solo – cycling back and forth to pick up his belongings. But organisations and businesses had got behind him, providing bikes and people to help him move. ‘‘That’s the amazing thing about the biking community . . . it’s really nice they’re willing to give up an hour or two on the weekend.’’
He hoped there would be growing support from local and central Government as well as other Wellingtonians to make cycling more accessible and safer in the city.
‘‘A simple bike can do a lot,’’ he said. ‘‘You can put a bed on the back of a bike – that’s not something that can fit in a car.’’