E-bike subscription company has bikes flying out the door

Friday, 5 August 2022

Business partners Connor Read and Aidan Smith are bringing subscription e-bikes to Christchurch and Auckland streets.

An e-bike subscription business based in Christchurch – a first for the Garden City - has bikes flying out the door to those who want to get pedalling with a little extra push.

Christchurch start-up business Shutl are offering e-bikes to customers on a subscription plan for $39.95 a week, with a long-term rental option available - an offer that has proven to be so popular, they've run out of bikes.

Locals Aidan Smith and Connor Read left their jobs as mechanical engineers in February because they wanted to offer a service for commuters in their hometown.

Seen in Europe, customers of the bike hire business pay a weekly subscription to get access to their own electric bike. The monthly lease hire includes theft cover, on-demand repairs and maintenance.

Shutl e-bikes will be available in Auckland next year.

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Aidan Smith and Connor Read left their jobs as mechanical engineers to start up an e-bike subscription rental business.

The business started with a pilot run in early June and has rented out all 20 of its bikes so far. They will be importing 30 more from Taiwan next month to keep up with demand.

Smith said the idea was to “change urban journey habits” – in other words, get the cars off the road.

“Currently some of the large barriers to adopting electric bikes for commuters is the initial cost and complexity of maintenance and repairs,” said Smith.

“We have heard horror stories of riders buying a brand new electric bike, for it to break a month later and then have to wait for five months to get a spare part for it.”

Smith and Read plan to take their business – 400 bikes in total – to Auckland once they see it working well in Christchurch. The subscription will be offered at a lower cost of $29.95 per week because of the population difference and demand. They will keep 50 e-bikes available in Christchurch.

Smith said the subscriptions are different to companies renting out bikes for single-ride use because the bike is yours alone, and you don’t have to search on an app to locate one or compete with others.

With Shutl you get your own e-bike that lives at home or the office with you. It is also cheaper to use for your daily commute, and you can customise it to suit your needs, said Smith.

The Shutl bikes are connected to an app, which gives riders the ability to track their activity, including moving time, speed, calories burned, and environmental impact.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Shutl’s e-bike subscription rental service was a first for New Zealand. It is the first of its kind in Christchurch. (Amended at 4.56pm on August 5, 2022)