Bike sharing in Adelaide receives a new lease on life
BIKE sharing in Adelaide has been resuscitated after Bike SA struck up a deal to buy Ofo’s 450 leftover cycles.
BIKE sharing in Adelaide has been revived after Bike SA struck a deal to buy Ofo’s 450 leftover cycles.
The city faced having no free bike service after Ofo, which was responsible for the scores of yellow bikes across Adelaide, this month announced it would shut down its Australian operations.
Bike SA chief executive Christian Haag, told The Advertiser the plan would most likely veer away from the dockless bike model Ofo attempted in its short stint in Australia, which resulting in many bikes being dumped in rivers, up trees and on footpaths.
He said a range of “hybrid docking models” would be considered over the next couple of months. These could involve technology to track the bikes and the requirement that users return them to racks to which they would be tethered.
Mr Haag said the plan was to strike a sustainable revenue model, meaning there could be a small fee to hire the bikes.
Adelaide City Council may partner with Bike SA.
Councillor Houssam Abiad has proposed the council sponsor or partner with the organisation to help retrofit the bikes with locking and location technology.
He said it would allow the council to make more informed decisions about its bike infrastructure.
“It will provide the opportunity to target our investment in bike infrastructure based off commuter habits,” he said.