As mentioned, a few months back, Locky Docks have been sprouting up all over Christchurch. In the next week or so, the team at Locky Dock want to say thank you to Christchurch bikers by offering free bike tune-ups by expert mechanics at Locky Dock stations across Christchurch to help you get your bike summer-ready. See this link for details of where and when. Back in Sep 2020, we heralded the arrival of the first Locky Docks to Christchurch…
A few months back we informed you about an exciting new development for bike parking about to happen in Christchurch – “Locky Docks“. Essentially they are free secure bike/scooter parking stations scattered around the central city that also offer the ability to charge your device if you have an e-bike/scooter.
The Locky Dock stations were launched with some fanfare in mid-June by the Associate Transport Minister Julie-Anne Genter. Currently there are nine locations in central Christchurch where you can safely park your bike, plus another at Northlands, with more planned over time (e.g. I gather that one will be placed at the hospital).
Initially the main way that you could unlock the bike parks was via a smartphone app, Bikeep, available for both Android and iPhone. I’ve used the app a couple of times to lock a bike and, once you’ve registered your phone number, it’s pretty straightforward to use. I understand now that in Christchurch another method available to use is to simply use your bus Metrocard to “tap and go”; I haven’t tried that yet though.
{2025 Update: apparently any contactless card will do the trick these days…}
The locking swing arm is quite a clever design, so that your frame and wheel are well secured while parked (not always easy to do for larger frames – you might have to back your bike in…). The technology comes from Europe where they are well used and very secure (CCTV/alarm built in too). By the way, if you’re wondering how all of this is paid for, the trick is the advertising screen placed next to each station, which helps to cover setup and ongoing costs.
If you’ve seen these Locky Dock stations around the city but been unsure about trying them out, maybe it’s time to give them a go? Just download the free app or grab your contactless card. And for those of you needing to recharge your e-device, just bring along your cable and get some free electrons too (there is a little locker in each to store your charging cable). If you can think of other great locations for installing one of these stations, just contact the operators Big Street Bikers with your idea.
Have you tried out the Locky Dock stations yet?