The Paekākāriki Bike Library was set up by local cycling advocate Jan Nisbet in 2015 with the goal of every Paekākāriki resident riding a bike. We also provide this service to our Kāpiti Coast community from Pukerua Bay to Peka Peka.
The library currently has 300 bikes on loan and over the 10 years its been running, more than 1000 bikes have passed through the Bike Library.
All bikes loaned out have been generously donated and the library is run by a dedicated team of volunteers.
Annual membership subscriptions range between $25 and $40 which allows the library to buy the spare parts and tools needed to keep the service going. Within the year, if a child outgrows their bike, they can swap it for larger size. without losing their subscription.
The Paekākāriki Bike Library won the Sport and Leisure section for Kāpiti in the Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards in 2016, and in the same year were highly commended in the Get On Yer Bike Award at the Bike to the Future Awards.
The bike library has once again been selected as the winner of our category in the Wellington Airport Regional Community Awards 2025 – Kāpiti. This award recognises the ongoing and valuable contribution of all our bike library volunteers.
(There’s a lovely article here at the Daily Encourager in conversation with Jan.)
Art resuscitation credit: Steven Hemmens
