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    Bike Hire, Guided Tours and Electric Bike Subscriptions

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Our Mission

 

We imagine Wellington’s transport to be fully sustainable, accessible and healthy.  We’re on a mission to enable memorable biking experiences so you can see this city – and how you get around it – from a whole new perspective.

Since 2015 we’ve been Wellington’s bike hire hub, conveniently based on the city’s central waterfront. We have a huge selection of regular and electric bikes for hourly hire.

In 2020, we decided to shake up the way people get to work by launching Aotearoa’s first truly subscription based electric bike programme. Subscribe to Ride eliminates the need for personal eBike ownership and does away with traffic jams at the same time.

Since the beginning of providing tours, visitors of Wellington have loved our Electric Bays Tour. An eBike tour is the best way to see Wellington and its surrounding bays. You get to experience Wellington from a local’s view point.

As proven by over 650 excellent reviews on Trip Advisor, we do our very best to show visitors a great time in Wellington.

 

Community and Environment

 

Electric bikes offer a revolutionary transport alternative to driving as we respond to the climate crisis.  We promote the use of electric bikes as a transport method and have encouraged many people to swap out their car journeys for bike journeys. Visitors from near and far as well as locals have made the switch after joining us on an electric bike tour or after hiring an eBike from us.

We choose to use quality products that last for many years.  Eventually, when a product we sell reaches the end of it’s life, we encourage people to return it to us so we can re-use or recycle it to our best ability.  In particular, we have partners in NZ who re-use the parts of lithium batteries and we donate any bike parts that are still able to be used to Mechanic Tempest.

By being a member of the Sustainable Business Network, we gain inspiration and support to do better as a business. We are also a member of Cycling Action Network who advocates nationwide to make biking safer for everyone. We support numerous social causes through the donation of vouchers that can be given as prizes or raffles (if you’d like to request support, you can email us on info@switchedonbikes.co.nz).

We support Trails Wellington, by donating $5 from every half or full day mountain bike hire to support their work building and maintaining the awesome mountain bike trails in Wellington.

Tiaki Promise

We are proud upholders of the #TIAKIPROMISE. We recognise our duty as an operator in Aotearoa to act responsibly in the way that we treat the whenua (the land), taiao (nature/environment) and our tāngata (people). These principals of tiaki inform how we work and interact everyday. You can learn more about the #tiakipromise here.

Ryan O’Connell started Switched on Bikes in 2015. After trying an electric bike for the first time while visiting the South Island, he realised they would provide an amazing experience for visitors wanting to see the wild side of Te-Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington. Ryan has always had a keen interest in environmental sustainability and brings those values to Switched on Bikes.

Dylan Hutton leads our digital department (he is the digital department) managing our bookings, website administration, marketing, design and you’ll see him kicking around the shop too. Hailing from Whakatū/Nelson, Dylan is now a part of the Wellington theatre and comedy community as an actor, improvisor and theatrical producer. Bikes provide freedom and thrill for Dylan as he loves blasting around our city and taking in all its stunning views! Dylan relaunched our cycle tours in 2022 but has since stepped back and now provides training and support for our current guides.

Stephanie Cairns, our head mechanic, grew up on the Kapiti Coast but didn’t start riding bikes until she worked out how much money she could save on bus fares as a university student in Wellington. When she started volunteering at Mechanical Tempest, Wellington’s original DIY community bike workshop, she discovered an unexpected affinity for grease and gears which led to a passion for cycle touring (including a six month jaunt through Mexico) and educating others about the joy of riding and fixing bikes. Steph is also occasionally seen on stage with her band Birdfeeder and in front of council committees advocating for better cycleways.

Darcy Lawrey started his life on two wheels with a wooden running bike he’d race across his home town of Nelson. A firm believer in the benefits of the bike, he advocated for increased access to cycling while at Nelson College.
His bikes have followed him to university and you’ll now find him battling a headwind on the way up to a law class, dreaming about fixed gears, and here at Switched On Bikes helping out on tours and trying to work out where that screw came from.

Tara Luty loves an adventure, especially on a bike – from before she was out of the womb, she was touring cross-country with her family. She grew up in rural Taranaki, where her dad ran a small cycle touring business, and spent her teenage years in Switzerland being dragged up mountain passes by her cycle-crazed mother. In her early twenties, Tara toured from London to Skye on a shoestring, fueled by gummy bears and lentil soup from a homemade beer-can cooker. She came to Pōneke to study Fine Arts, and you can now find her zipping through the city’s streets from work to her art studio to the climbing gym and to scout the surf. As one of our tour guides, Tara brings her passion for Wellington’s history, culture, and nature to every ride.

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