Rent-a-bike scheme for Dunedin?

Long trudges through town will be a thing of the past if a French-style "social bicycle" scheme gets rolling in Dunedin.

The Dunedin City Council is supporting a study into alternative transport options for Dunedin, including the possibility of bikes being made available for public use.

Nathalie Lacaze-Campbell, an Otago Polytechnic bachelor of applied management student, is in France at the moment looking at rent-a-bike options that could work in Dunedin.

Schemes like the Velo V rent-a-bike system in Grand Lyon, France, or the Sobi (social bicycle) in New York were two examples that could work in Dunedin, Ms Lacaze-Campbell said from Lyon yesterday.

"(In Lyon) they allow people to go take a bike from one point and leave it at another point in town for another commuter to use."

Ms Lacaze-Campbell, who is from France, said Dunedin was a great place to develop alternative transport options.

She said the next idea would be to see how a scheme could integrate electric bikes, and even electric car-sharing schemes that were working well in Quebec.

"I think this sort of system can help improve mobility in cities and help improve the cost of mobility for people commuting daily for everyday activities."

Acting DCC transportation planning manager Lisa Clifford said the council was supporting the research and the associated survey and was asking for the public's views on other transport options.

One of those already being talked about was the resurrection of the High St cable car.

The High Street Cable Car Trust will begin a fundraising drive next year.

Passenger trains are another area with potential; these are already used for one-off events like ferrying people from Mosgiel to the recent All Blacks vs Springboks match in Dunedin.

Taieri Gorge Railway chief executive officer Murray Bond said a comprehensive passenger train service in Dunedin was probably not likely given the city's small population.

He said the trains were put to good use during the cruise ship season and most passengers made their way into Dunedin using that service, with some visitors taking Taieri Gorge train trip too.

He said while buses had roads provided for them, rail operators had to pay for everything themselves, making it uneconomic by comparison. The infrastructure was there in the form of trains, carriages and tracks if anyone came up with an idea that they thought would work.

To complete the survey go to www.opsa.org.nz and click on the 'Mobility and Alternative Transportation Survey' before next Tuesday.