Have you ever thought about buying an electric car or bike?

We hear a lot about climate disruption and the heating up of the air that supports us. Transport is a large part of the issue.  Trouble is that we live in a world where we need to get around – so what can we do about it?  It turns out, quite a lot, and we have local people who can help us out.

Ezeebike

Electric bikes are taking the City by storm and allowing not particularly fit people, like me, to bike all over the City, avoid getting stuck in traffic and avoid parking hassles.  They also allow their riders to arrive at meetings dressed well  and looking cool, calm and collected.  On wet days good wet weather gear helps a lot.  Riders can ride past all the stuck traffic, to arrive at work on time, in good spirits and … dry!  A few also have found they can tow a bike trailer for carrying larger loads, and all this for the cost of about 0.1-0.2 cents per km in power. The kilometres add up too – I bought an electric bike last year and covered about 6000km on it.  Imagine what that would have cost in petrol alone). Even better I bought my bike from someone who lives and works very close to Halswell (check out EcoAnts at http://eco-ants.co.nz/)

Nissan Leaf

OK … I realise that for many of you, the idea of riding a bike is just a move too far.  But what about getting an electric car?  Although they won't save you from getting stuck in traffic or having to find and pay for a park, they have a good range for round town purposes, they have a much smaller carbon footprint that petrol cars and cost much less to run.  For people who are interested in reducing their carbon footprint, these are a step in the right direction.   For those who aren’t too sure, how about trying one out first? Blue Cars have an electric car available for hire from a place about 6km from Halswell on the way to Tai Tapu.  (Find out more about electric cars and renting a Blue Car at  https://bluecars.nz/?v=6cc98ba2045f).