Novocastrians now have a new way to get around town, with the launch of an on-demand electric bike sharing scheme announced today.
BYKKO has partnered with Newcastle City Council to bring about the initiative, aimed at reducing traffic congestion around the CBD and keeping people active.
100 electric bicycles will be available for hire, spread across 19 docking stations, which are smaller than a car park and include charging facilities and helmets for mandatory use.
Their locations include:
- Bar Beach;
- The Junction;
- Wheeler Place;
- Customs House;
- NeWspace;
- Newcastle Transport Interchange;
- the Foreshore;
- Newcastle Library and
- Darby Street
Cyclists can tap membership cards or use their smartphones to pay for the service at a fixed cost.
Operations Manager of BYYKO, Mark Assire said unlike other free-floating bike schemes, which have proven problematic in Melbourne and Sydney, we won't see bikes dumped across the city of Newcastle, due to BYKKO's unique payment system.
"How the system works is, you can rent them half-hourly for $5.99 or rent them weekly for $22.
"When you rent them for a week, you won't get charged any more if you dock the bikes every half hour," Mr Assire said.
"You can go for another one, but they want you docking the bikes - and once the bikes are docked, they're locked; if you don't dock them you'll get charged for the overtime and lose your deposit."
The BYKKO scheme comes as part of Transport NSW's Newcastle On Demand trial, to be implemented alongside other timetabled public transport services.
Anyone over the age of 18 may use the service, 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
