And it said while its technicians made safety checks, posties would use bicycles and e-bikes to make sure the mail got through.

So does that mean we’ll be seeing a return of  NZ-built Reiker Postie Bikes? Carbon News asked.

Well, sort of. NZ Post still has 43 of the electrified version of the Reiker. More than 10,000 of the standard bikes were made in Timaru between 1997 and 2017 when NZ Post purchased the $27,000 Paxsters.

It might be one of the few cases where purchasing electrified vehicles might have actually increased a business’s carbon footprint.

A spokesperson for NZ Post said it no longer had any of non-electric versions of the Reiker.

That will come as news to the postie who can be seen pedalling around Wellington’s bays delivering the mail each day.

The spokesperson said NZ Post had 43 of the Reiker e-bikes still in service and 186 Tern cargo bikes.

That compares to 176 Reiker e-bikes and 174 Reiker postie bikes at the time NZ Post bought its first batch of Paxsters.

NZ Post says the Paxsters have an expected life of six years.

Last week’s hiccup with the Paxsters is the second this year, with NZ Post withdrawing the 415 strong fleet back in April to deal with another maintenance issue. 

The Paxsters are expected to be back in service over the coming days.

Reiker Cycles, New Zealand's last major bicycle factory, closed its doors permanently the year after losing the NZ Post contract.