{"id":246888,"date":"2019-10-28T18:40:32","date_gmt":"2019-10-28T08:40:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=246888"},"modified":"2021-03-11T17:54:14","modified_gmt":"2021-03-11T07:54:14","slug":"council-drops-bike-hire-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/10\/28\/council-drops-bike-hire-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"Council Drops Bike Hire Idea"},"content":{"rendered":"
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South Burnett Regional Council will give away 15 mountain bikes to any community group that wants to operate a bicycle hire service in the region after its own six-week trial disclosed a number of problems with the idea (Photo: rnrwanderers)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

October 28, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

South Burnett Regional Council will give 15 mountain bikes away for free to any community group that wants to start a bicycle hire service in the region.<\/p>\n

The bicycles will also come with a copy of a report outlining the results of Council’s six-week trial of the concept, which staff described as “underwhelming”.<\/p>\n

At last week’s Council meeting, Councillors heard a six-week trial of free bicycle hire had been run from mid-May to the end of June this year, using bikes purchased with a grant for another community health program.<\/p>\n

Five bikes had been available for hire from both the Kingaroy and Wondai Visitor Information Centres (VICs), and another five from the Lake Boondooma Tourist Park.<\/p>\n

The bikes were hired on condition hirers provided ID before using the bikes, and returned the bikes at the end of the day.<\/p>\n

Over the six-week trial period, 28 bike hires occurred – 16 at the Kingaroy VIC, and rest at Wondai’s VIC.<\/p>\n

No bikes were hired at Lake Boondooma.<\/p>\n

The report noted the trial had been beset by a number of problems.<\/strong><\/p>\n

These included poor display of the bikes, which had been stored behind Kingaroy’s VIC, inside Wondai’s VIC, and out of public view at Lake Boondooma; and a poor reaction to the idea by some VIC volunteers, who felt bike hire was outside the scope of their roles.<\/p>\n

Other problems included the bikes not being provided with pumps or tool kits to adjust seats and carry out other routine adjustments; no advice being provided to hirers about what to do in an emergency; the requirement to return a bike to the point of hire rather than another location; and the lack of a booking system, which led to several double-bookings.<\/p>\n

The report noted that most comments made by people using the bike hire service were very positive, but also noted the trial had disclosed a number of issues that hadn’t been thought about.<\/p>\n

These included being able to offer one-way hires (eg. Kingaroy to Wondai or vice-versa); procedures to assist riders who broke down during a hire (eg. getting a flat tyre); after-hours returns; and related matters.<\/p>\n

The trial was jointly run by Council’s Economic Development and Natural Resources departments.<\/p>\n

Community groups interested in taking up the offer should contact these departments.<\/p>\n