By Kirra Livingstone
MALENY, the once ‘Co-op Capital’ of the Southern Hemisphere, is adding another member-owned association with a new community e-bike initiative.
MalenyBikes aims to encourage bicycle usership as a way to get more people out of cars and into the fresh air.
While the notoriously steep hills have made bike travel a difficult sell, MalenyBikes president, Oliver Darvas said “nothing flattens the Maleny hills more than e-bikes.
“It’s a healthy way of getting around town for errands, leisure and to take in the scenery of our lush surroundings and scenic vistas.”
Three e-bikes have been loaned to MalenyBikes by Eco Villages Australia after they secured a Queensland Government Community Benefit Grant. These e-bikes will be used as a trial for a community-led long term e-bike hire program.
At a time of rising costs, e-bikes provide an affordable way of getting around town.
The bikes on loan costs about 10c to fully charge which give approximately 50 kilometres of travel which makes travel extraordinarily cheap – around 0.2 cents a kilometre.
As their purchase price can be a lot higher than traditional bicycles, “MalenyBikes hopes to bridge that gap by providing an affordable service pending outcomes of this bikeLoan pilot program,” said MalenyBikes treasurer, Ritva Vilppola.
Eco Villages co-founder, Andrew McLean, uses an e-bike as his primary form of travel. “It’s fun, I connect to people and the environment around me. It promotes a healthier body and mind. I get to know locals and the homeless living in the Showgrounds as a happy byproduct of moving slower through the world. And I don’t take up a parking space in the main street or add to climate change emissions,” Andrew said.
“It’s kind of crazy that our preferred mode of travel requires two tonnes of steel to move a human around.
“And yes, they do go up Teak Street!”
For more information on the initiative, MalenyBikes can be found at malenybikes.mailchimpsites.com
Main image: Andrew McLean and Oliver Darvas
