Unused $84k Wellington Bike Rack shows need to hit the breaks on waste

The Taxpayers’ Union is slamming Wellington City Council for blowing $84,208 on a bike rack that sees an average of just 2.7 bikes per week.

Commenting on this, Taxpayers’ Union spokesperson, James Ross said:

“With the Council spending $84k on a single rack for bikes, it’s no wonder the cost of the Town Hall project has blown out by almost eight times the original budget. Wellington can’t run projects cost-effectively.

“The council blames bad weather on low uptake. If people are only biking when it’s sunny, what’s wrong with simply having a piece of metal people can chain their bike to?

“Everything in Wellington ends up gold-plated, except for anything that people actually need – like core infrastructure. The city spends $84k on a bike rack and $150k per raised road crossing, but has water pipes that leak like a sieve.

“The Council’s prioritise-bikes-at-any-cost agenda is costing ratepayers significantly. The Council seems to think ‘if you build it, they will come’ but the evidence clearly shows otherwise.”