A year on, and bike plan gets wheels

MEMBERS of the eThekwini executive committee (exco) might finally be taking to the road on bicycles bought for the city more than a year ago.

The 300 bicycles were acquired for the 17th conference of Parties (COP17) along with other related equipment for delegates to the international environment conference in 2011.

They were sponsored by the Global Environmental Fund and the UN Industrial Development Organisation and came in different sizes for men and women.

Mayor James Nxumalo said they had been expecting to get 12 bicycles which were allocated for exco members for more than a year under a city staff bicycle project.

The project is part of a much larger non-motorised transport plan by the eThekwini Transport Authority.

Responsibility

Nxumalo said councillors had not received their bicycles yet, mainly because no one had taken the responsibility for seeing to this.

“These bicycles were not in use, so we decided to use them. Instead of using vehicles, we can use them, and in that way we are saving fuel and energy. At the same time they will be keeping the staff fit,” he said.

Nxumalo said councillors would also get bicycles, but for now they were starting with the senior leaders.

“They will ride them to the ICC and around. Having these bicycles is also about promoting a healthy lifestyle,” he said.

In November 2011, Nxumalo had pledged to ride from his home in Pinetown to his workplace at the City Hall once a week on a city-sponsored electric bicycle.

DA councillor Heinz de Boer said he had heard rumours that many of the bicycles had gone missing and had asked for the council to investigate.