Bike-sharing craze to hit Canning

Bike-sharing craze to hit Canning

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Canning councillor Jesse Jacobs wants to make bike sharing a reality in the city. Photograph - Toby Hussey.

The worldwide bike-sharing craze could soon hit the streets of Canning after the council voted to investigate developing its own program.

Bike-sharing has become popular internationally and Canning could have a fleet of pay-per-use bikes if the city chooses to develop on the proposal.

A bike sharing program began trials in Joondalup last month and similar programs exist in Melbourne and Brisbane.

The business running the Joondalup trial charges users $3 per 45-minute ride, which includes helmet hire.

The bikes can be rented for a day, a week or a month for $10, $20 and $40 respectively.

Docks are usually placed throughout a city where users can return the bikes to and charges are based on the amount of time the bike is undocked.

City of Canning councilor Jesse Jacobs raised the motion to investigate the possibility of having the program in Canning and said it could provide benefits across the city.

“It’s healthy, there’s less congestion and it may help to reduce bike crime,” he said.

“You can use your smart phone, go up to the bike and unlock it until you reach your destination.

“It would be good to be proactive and get ahead of the curve.”

Mr Jacobs said if developed the program could also potentially link up with nearby cities if they began their own bike sharing programs.

The council voted unanimously in support of investigating the proposal.

The city’s executive officer will deliver a report to council in November with his findings.