Following six successful years in partnership with Rimutaka Prison, Upper Hutt City Council says farewell and thank you to one of the founding partners from the Upper Hutt Bike Recycling Project.

Council now welcomes new partners Get Fixed Bicycle Café and Menzshed Upper Hutt who will help expand the Project’s goals in bike recycling.

The project will continue to be supported in a reduced capacity by The Cycle Centre who were heavily involved in training at the prison to repair bicycles as well as assisting in donation drives and checking bikes at schools.

The Bike Recycling Project is a joint initiative run by Activation, an Upper Hutt City Council team which refurbishes bikes for children, youth and adults who may not otherwise have access to safe, quality bikes.

Mike Ryan, Director of Community Services at Council says that the six years of support from Rimutaka Prison has been instrumental in the success of the project and that they have made a significant contribution across the whole community.

“We simply could not have achieved what we have without their help and we’re so grateful for the time and effort from the team at Rimutaka Prison.”

“I’m pleased that with today’s announcement of new partners that we’ll be able to continue the Projects work in making bikes accessible for the community.”

“With Get Fixed Bicycle Café and Menzshed Upper Hutt coming on-board we’re in very capable hands to continue to repair and distribute bikes.”

“New Zealand Red Cross former refugees as well as the Upper Hutt Women’s Centre are the latest recipients of the Project, receiving bikes for the families they support. For many former refugees settling in Upper Hutt, getting a bike means a lot. It provides them with a sense of freedom and independence”, says Ryan.

Serhan Mustafa, Settlement Case Worker says that they’ve worked with the Project since last year when they began settling former refugees in Upper Hutt.

“It’s a fantastic project. We identify people who would like, and would benefit from having a bike, including adults and children. So far, nine men and women have received bikes. It’s a popular project with more people on the waiting list.”

“New Zealanders really benefit from the project. Once they get a bike, they can move around freely to get to their appointments, go to school or get shopping and get to know their surroundings. It also helps them reduce their travel costs”, says Mustafa.

The initiative is a true community partnership with several organisations working together, from the team at Menzshed Upper Hutt and Get Fixed Bicycle Café who work on refurbishing the donated bikes to Greater Wellington Regional Council who support schools with cycling skills and education through their Pedal Ready programme. They also recently gifted helmets to Fergusson Intermediate to accompany the bikes. The Heretaunga Bookfest Charitable Trust (formerly Rotary) also provided financial support and the Bike on New Zealand Charitable Trust who provided helmets.

The project has refurbished approximately 600 bikes since it began.

To be part of the project you can bring your unwanted bike to Get Fixed Bicycle Café at Brewtown during their opening hours and a friendly staff member will be able to provide assistance.

If you or someone you know needs a bike, but is not in a position to purchase one, you can nominate them at activation.org.nz.

For more information on this fantastic community project go to upperhuttcity.com/Bike-Recycling

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