Electrifying the Waikato, one bike at a time

An enterprising Ngaruawahia couple saw an opportunity to build a business on the back of the rise of popularity of cycling in the Waikato.

And now Dan and Dynell Tairaki have two complementary businesses that are supporting the Waikato’s burgeoning cycle tourism industry: an ElectrifyNZ franchise in Hamilton’s CBD that sells and hires electric bikes and River Riders, which hires the e-bikes and directs people – tourists and locals – to picturesque cycle trails around the region.

“With the hype about the Perry Bridge and Te Awa River Ride in the northern section in Ngaruawahia being completed we thought, ‘hey, this is going to open up our sleepy town’,” Dan said.

He and Dynell believe Ngaruawahia has a lot of potential that hasn’t yet been realised. 

Dan said with the Te Awa River Ride and the Perry Bridge connecting Ngarauwahia to the city it would help activate more businesses like them, cafes, tourism operators and accommodation providers.

“Initially we thought, us and the kids could go down to the river on the weekend and set up a marquee, buy some e-bikes, enjoy each other’s company and share the bikes with others…  just to do something fun.

“It didn’t end up like that. Support came in from Te Awa River Ride, the Perry Group, and good people like that who are a big part of the development of that infrastructure. They supported us and gave us the confidence, along with the Waikato District Council and Open Waikato to have a go [at launching a tourism business].”

Then, in December, the Tairakis began selling electric bikes in the Hamilton CBD – the perfect complementary business to River Riders.

They opened a little shop in Garden Place after first sourcing the bikes.

“We knew e-bikes were going to be popular, so we shopped around. We tried a lot of different bikes.

“We’d meet up with these suppliers and we’d always be disappointed and then we came across Electrify NZ.

“It’s a franchise. To cut a long story short, it was a pretty easy decision to invest in it and buy into it. The guys have got a really good set up with franchises popping up all over NZ. They’ve got top quality American and European bikes with all the back-up support. The warehouse is just down the road here in Hamilton, so all the parts are right here. That decision was proven right through this peak season when we sold heaps of bikes,” Dan said.

Their first Garden Place location was a tiny 22sqm pop-up shop.

“It was like a shoe box, but we were amazed by how many bikes we sold in there,” Dan said

“Then we got the opportunity to move into this building and it’s been going hard out since then.”

The building Dan describes is just around the corner from the old one – now on the corner of Victoria Street and Garden Place.

On the tourism front, Dan said he and Dynell had been well supported.

“People like Jason Dawson and Nicola Greenwell and the team at Hamilton-Waikato Tourism – they’ve been amazing offering all the right guidance and support. We rent out quite a few bikes through www.electrify.nz and www.riverriders.co.nz to tourists from Japan, America, Australia, China and locally.

“And it’s full credit to this location here in Hamilton central CBD, because a lot of those are foot traffic. They’re wandering over from whatever central accommodation they're staying at when they’ve got a spare hour or two and they’re looking for something to do. They jump on an e-bike.”

Dan said even though tourism had played a strong role in the Tairaki’s current success, there was more to be done in the sector.

“I think the full potential of our destination hasn’t been realised. I think the goal to face the city towards the river complements the strategy of Hamilton-Waikato Tourism to activate tourism along the river and I think we’re a big part of that.

“A lot of the key sights along the Te Awa River Ride are only really accessible by bike or by foot and on an e-bike you can access the Perry Bridge and Hamilton Gardens in a short space of time without over-exerting yourself and there are some amazing Waikato stories we will be telling folks along the river ride too.”

When it comes to selling e-bikes, Dan said every customer needs some training. He takes his customers for a training session and makes sure they are confident and happy before he even thinks of letting them buy one.

He said many locals had started showing interest in using e-bikes for commuting.

“We’re selling e-bikes to people that are living in Ngaruawahia and e-biking to work, so it’s proving to be great for commuting. When the cycleway is finished, from Hamilton to Cambridge, it’s going to encourage more commuting.

“That’s really important for moving forward into a smarter city. A car takes up the same space as 12 bikes.”

Dan said if you look at the Hamilton City Council’s 10 Year Plan you’d see information and plans about and for better and safer cycle connectivity in Hamilton.

Because commuter biking is starting to take off in Hamilton and the wider region, Dan believes there needs to be a biking hub in the CBD and he’s not alone in this.

Hamilton Central Business Association general manager Vanessa Williams said she had been working with Dan and Dynell on the idea for a potential bike hub.

“What we don’t have here are end-of-destination bike facilities. We don’t have lock-up areas, showers, lockers and the sorts of things that are actually quite mandatory for the commuter cyclist.

“We have joined with Electrify NZ, there has been interest from a bike mechanic in Auckland about joining this collaboration, along with Bikes Welcome who work closely with Wellington City Council around putting structures in place to make biking more accessible. Cycle Action New Zealand also want to help,” Vanessa said.

She said the group got together to discuss questions such as if we could get a bike hub, what would a bike hub need to have? What would it look like? And why would we have it?

“We want to see if we can come up with a model that goes across commercial, social and local government.

“Wellington has one, which is why we wanted to talk with Bikes Welcome as they worked a lot with Wellington City Council, retailers and businesses on the main streets about bringing in bike parks and places to lock up bikes. It’s trying to work with businesses to grow the understanding the [economic and social] benefits the biking community can bring.”

Vanessa said there was a building that they could possibly take over and utilise for this.

“It would have to be secure and locked, so people can bike into the city, put their bike in there, grab a shower if they need and then use a locker for anything else they need.

“It would be open to everyone, but primarily for businesses around the CBD.”

The building they are looking at is just over 500sqm.

“The space has a lot of potential. It would be cool to have a coffee lounge in there to give it a social side. It creates a positive social element,” Dan said.

“Cycling NZ and Hamilton City Council are talking about having ride leadings – ride to the Balloons over Waikato and other events for the community – a bike hub is the perfect place to meet and co-ordinate.”

For more information see http://riverriders.co.nz and http://electrify.nz.

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