AT's efforts to encourage cycling - more to do, says group

Wilton also noted the new Bike Hubs across Auckland, serving as repair and donation centres, refurbishing bikes for communities, and offering tutorials on self-repairs, unlike traditional bike shops.

But Bike Auckland, which advocates for cyclists, says safety was the biggest challenge and priority for Auckland cyclists.

The lack of safe cycleways is a limitation, says chief biking officer Fiáin d'Leafy.

They say the AT cycling courses are valuable but there is a large gap in developing riders' confidence between the adult course levels and a demand for more investment in the children’s programme.

Bike Auckland chair Karen Hormann recounted searching for an in-school course for her daughter but, unable to make contact with AT, eventually gave up.

“You don’t know when it’s happening, no one seems to know anything. That was a few years ago so I hope that it's improved, but it’s probably worse now there’s less funding.”

Hormann said there was an issue within the Auckland cycling infrastructure's connections, with cyclists often navigating dangerous sections of the road to reach the rest of the cycleways.

This was “really off-putting for new cyclists.”