Dublin Bikes - expansion stalled?

ArmaniJeanss · 11-08-2016 10:40am

Not sure if this is the latest thread or theres a fresher one. Modulerators please move if necessary.
******

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/expanded-dublin-bikes-scheme-to-grangegorman-dit-on-hold-1.2752057

The planned expansion of the Dublin Bikes rental scheme to the new DIT campus at Grangegorman has been put on hold because of a lack of money to run the service.

The National Transport Authority (NTA) last February wrote to then minister for transport Paschal Donohoe outlining plans for 15 new bike stations which would allow the rental scheme to be extended to Grangegorman - representing the first major expansion of the scheme into suburban Dublin.

The NTA told Mr Donohoe the scheme would be in place by September/October this year. However, Dublin City Council said it cannot afford to run the extended service, which is already operating at a loss.

cgcsb · 11-08-2016 1:45pm

Grangegorman = Suburban Dublin, you gotta love the Irish Times, it's like they're Martians.

LeinsterDub · 11-08-2016 2:19pm

AngryLips · 11-08-2016 11:43pm

Wait, what about all that advertising revenue to fund the service?

Muahahaha · 12-08-2016 12:00am

thats what I was thinking too, how many electronic billboards were JC Decaux given? I had thought they and the sponsorship funded it??

FredFunk · 12-08-2016 9:43am

Does it make much difference if it is making a loss, surely Dublin Bus, Luas and Irish Rail are highly subsidised. You could argue that Dublin Bikes is one of the key transport systems with the lack of alternatives.

loyatemu · 12-08-2016 10:34am

FredFunk wrote: »

Does it make much difference if it is making a loss, surely Dublin Bus, Luas and Irish Rail are highly subsidised. You could argue that Dublin Bikes is one of the key transport systems with the lack of alternatives.

I'd imagine DCC have announced this publicly to try and pressurise TII to give them some money towards running the scheme.

cgcsb · 12-08-2016 10:50am

The scheme costs €1,900,000 to run, they get €1,200,000 in membership and usage fees and €312,000 in sponsorship.
That's a shortfall of only -€388,000 per year. For some reason an additional 15 bike stations will add €500,000 to the annual operating costs according to the article.

Assuming 0 new joiners after the expansion is complete that's still only a net annual deficit of -€888,000 per year.
We can raise that amount of money by abolishing the roles of Dublin's 4 ceremonial Lord Mayors. Replacing something useless with something useful for the same expense, why not simply do that?

LeinsterDub · 12-08-2016 11:34am

cgcsb wrote: »

The scheme costs €1,900,000 to run, they get €1,200,000 in membership and usage fees and €312,000 in sponsorship.

Isn't DCC so rich it was able to cut the household tax by 15%? The scheme doesn't have to be self funding

loyatemu · 12-08-2016 11:37am

they also want to increase the sub to €30 to make up the current shortfall, but I'd expect them to lose quite a few casual users if they raise the price again.

monument · 12-08-2016 11:45am

cgcsb wrote: »

The scheme costs €1,900,000 to run, they get €1,200,000 in membership and usage fees and €312,000 in sponsorship.
That's a shortfall of only -€388,000 per year. For some reason an additional 15 bike stations will add €500,000 to the annual operating costs according to the article.

Those costs are only for the east-west expansion.

Advertising still fully funds the original stations and bikes, and some of or all of the back end systems.

Carawaystick · 12-08-2016 5:21pm

Each bike costs over 2 grand according to the council

LeinsterDub · 12-08-2016 8:40pm

Carawaystick wrote: »

Each bike costs over 2 grand according to the council

And they've lost zero on them so far 2 grand over 40 years is nothing

LeinsterDub · 18-08-2016 8:51am

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/dublin-bikes-adverts-near-us-embassy-nasty-and-tacky-1.2759632

Let those Northside knackers pay for the bikes, this is leafy Donnybrook

Sam Russell · 24-08-2016 11:03am

LeinsterDub wrote: »

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/dublin-bikes-adverts-near-us-embassy-nasty-and-tacky-1.2759632

Let those Northside knackers pay for the bikes, this is leafy Donnybrook

There would appear to be more advertising points south of the Liffey than north of it.

LeinsterDub · 24-08-2016 3:24pm

Sam Russell wrote: »

There would appear to be more advertising points south of the Liffey than north of it.

We are know the only true southside is in and around Donnybrook

.

Correction
Let those knackers living in unfashionable areas pay for the bikes, this is leafy Donnybrook

Better?

Sam Russell · 24-08-2016 4:07pm

LeinsterDub wrote: »

We are know the only true southside is in and around Donnybrook .

Correction
Let those knackers living in unfashionable areas pay for the bikes, this is leafy Donnybrook

Better?

I do not care where they put those awful advertising boards - they would do better to put some news pages interspersed with the ads.

ArmaniJeanss · 20-09-2016 1:09pm

Can now be linked with Leap Card.

http://www.thejournal.ie/leap-card-dublin-bikes-2988094-Sep2016/
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/leap-cards-can-now-be-used-for-dublin-bikes-scheme-1.2798032

LeinsterDub · 08-11-2016 1:12pm

More talk of expansion
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/consumer/dublin-bikes-scheme-to-be-expanded-to-urban-villages-1.2858150

Dyr · 08-11-2016 1:15pm

"Labour councillor, Mary Freehill from Dublin 4, in response to questions about why D4 has 50% of the bikes in Dublin Bikes and hardly any of the advertising.
"It is areas like this [D4] that set the standards for the city, and I am not going to apologise for that.""

Is this true? I know my neighborhood on the northside was blighted with two of those awful advertising monstrosities when it's miles away from the nearest dublin bikes station

Dick Turnip · 08-11-2016 2:46pm

Bambi wrote: »

"Labour councillor, Mary Freehill from Dublin 4, in response to questions about why D4 has 50% of the bikes in Dublin Bikes and hardly any of the advertising.
"It is areas like this [D4] that set the standards for the city, and I am not going to apologise for that.""

Is this true? I know my neighborhood on the northside was blighted with two of those awful advertising monstrosities when it's miles away from the nearest dublin bikes station

I'm not sure if the quote is true or not, but D4 definitely doesn't have 50% of the bikes in the scheme. I'd make it that there's only 2 stations in D4 - the one on Barrow Street and the one near Shelbourne dog track.

Heartbreak Hank · 02-03-2017 10:08am

Article in the Guardian about schemes around the world and a focus on Dublin

Link

LeinsterDub · 29-05-2017 10:44am

Plenty of money for a car sharing scheme but DB remains underfunded

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/minister-to-introduce-successful-dublin-bikesstyle-system-to-boost-electric-cars-35765141.html

A car-sharing scheme modelled on Dublin Bikes is to be rolled out by the Government before the end of the year to increase uptake of electric vehicles (EVs).
More than 100 EVs will be available for hire in Dublin and Cork as part of an initiative to increase uptake and address fears of range anxiety [where motorists fear the car will run out of power before reaching their destination].

Sam Russell · 29-05-2017 3:41pm

LeinsterDub wrote: »

Plenty of money for a car sharing scheme but DB remains underfunded

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/minister-to-introduce-successful-dublin-bikesstyle-system-to-boost-electric-cars-35765141.html

I thought GoCar already provided that type of scheme.

LeinsterDub · 29-05-2017 4:24pm

Sam Russell wrote: »

I thought GoCar already provided that type of scheme.

Apparently we need a state run version too

bk · 29-05-2017 6:13pm

And most EV owners hate the EV GoCars as they are left sitting on the public chargers all day, so actual EV owners can't use them!

Not a bad idea to have rental EV's so people can try them out and get a feel for them, but they need to have their own dedicated charging infrastructure separate from the public chargers.

Plus the public charging network rollout ground to a halt about a year ago. It badly needs to get going again if EV's are to be successful.

LeinsterDub · 15-06-2017 9:09am

http://irishcycle.com/2017/06/15/e1-per-ride-stationless-bicycle-share-near-to-launch-in-dublin/

Good bye DublinBikes, hello abandoned bike chaos? Although having to using actual bike locking infrastructure could make this scheme very inconvenient

loyatemu · 15-06-2017 9:50am

LeinsterDub wrote: »

http://irishcycle.com/2017/06/15/e1-per-ride-stationless-bicycle-share-near-to-launch-in-dublin/

Good bye DublinBikes, hello abandoned bike chaos? Although having to using actual bike locking infrastructure could make this scheme very inconvenient

one of the Chinese companies is launching in Manchester too, with a number of other eyeing up London https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2017/jun/12/uber-bikes-manchester-mobike-china-global-ofo

annfield1978 · 15-06-2017 11:10pm

what ever happened the high density cycle parking for dublin city centre

veryangryman · 26-06-2017 9:39am

Tried this for first time on Saturday. Great getting around city, especially with roads closed for traffic.

However, returning bike to stand a nightmare as they would all be full so playing waiting game for someone else to take one.

Does it be this bad during the week, does one end up sitting waiting alot?

LeinsterDub · 26-06-2017 9:52am

veryangryman wrote: »

Tried this for first time on Saturday. Great getting around city, especially with roads closed for traffic.

However, returning bike to stand a nightmare as they would all be full so playing waiting game for someone else to take one.

Does it be this bad during the week, does one end up sitting waiting alot?

Most stations are with in a 3-5 minute walk of the next one . If I come to a station that's full I just cycle to the next one

beauf · 26-06-2017 10:10am

I check using a smart phone what stations have free stands before setting off.

Nervous Wreck · 26-06-2017 10:12am

LeinsterDub wrote: »

Most stations are with in a 3-5 minute walk of the next one . If I come to a station that's full I just cycle to the next one

And you can use the terminal at the stations to locate the nearest one with free spaces!

veryangryman · 26-06-2017 10:25am

Thanks for the replies.

I guess what im getting at is that on weekends, with less usage (i assume), i found 3-4 stations full at the same time. On a workday when i don't have time to wait, this can be stressful.

beauf · 26-06-2017 10:29am

Probably depends on your route. If you are commuting, you are competing with all the other commuters.

I use a folding bike for the reason. I only use the Dublin bikes off peak.

LeinsterDub · 26-06-2017 10:32am

veryangryman wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.

I guess what im getting at is that on weekends, with less usage (i assume), i found 3-4 stations full at the same time. On a workday when i don't have time to wait, this can be stressful.

Saturday was a very busy day for DB and with the road closures it would have made it difficult for DB to keep up with demand.

MrMorooka · 26-06-2017 12:47pm

veryangryman wrote: »

Tried this for first time on Saturday. Great getting around city, especially with roads closed for traffic.

However, returning bike to stand a nightmare as they would all be full so playing waiting game for someone else to take one.

Does it be this bad during the week, does one end up sitting waiting alot?

Yes, it's bad during the week, but it depends really on the time of day. Unfortunately I usually am cycling between 10 and 11am, right after the peak, so pretty much every station in the city centre is full. So as a result a lot of mornings I just walk instead.

In the evenings it's generally better because the demand is more spread out timewise etc. But then often you get the opposite problem, where there are no bikes in the city centre, and the stands further out where you're heading to are all full.

Like the other posters said, you should get an app and check the status of the stations before starting the trip. This one is really excellent on Android.

Really wish the scheme would be expanded, in every way- more stations, more stands and bikes at existing stations. It's a really great service and is in really high demand.

MrMorooka · 26-06-2017 12:53pm

Nervous Wreck wrote: »

And you can use the terminal at the stations to locate the nearest one with free spaces!

Note that you should do this too- the terminal will give you an extra 15 minutes(I think) on your lease if you log into a full station while you have a bike out. Remember that only the first 30 minutes of the trip are free, so it's important to get the extension if you can.

But the best approach is to check your app before making the trip so you don't go to a full(or soon-to-be-full) station in the first place.

ArmaniJeanss · 20-07-2017 3:57pm

Coke Zero no more, instead Just Eat.

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2017/0720/891713-just-eat-announced-as-new-dublinbikes-sponsor/

CatInABox · 20-07-2017 4:49pm

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Coke Zero no more, instead Just Eat.

https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2017/0720/891713-just-eat-announced-as-new-dublinbikes-sponsor/

Just Eat, and then cycle off the burger you just scoffed.

ED E · 04-09-2017 8:20pm

So, part of the DB system and others stationed models like it is the need for load balancing of stations with a van. Morning Out->In demand, Evening In->Out demand. In the middle staff drive around and shift them. Great.

Thus its not a big surprise that you need van space in the vicinity of each station. So why the hell have we got this bullsh1t going on? (Photo Credit to CycleDub).

There are plenty of examples, these are just some I quickly found.

1. Smithfield - OK

2. Kevin Street - Poor

3. York Street - Crap

4. SSG - Poor

5. SSG - Poor

6. Harcourt Terrace - Fine

7. Charlemont - Poor

8. Portabello - Crap

Could we not have planned for this?

Middle Man · 04-09-2017 11:34pm

CatInABox wrote: »

Just Eat, and then cycle off the burger you just scoffed.

'Just Walk!' would look much better IMO!

jimmycrackcorm · 04-09-2017 11:41pm

ED E wrote: »

So, part of the DB system and others stationed models like it is the need for load balancing of stations with a van. Morning Out->In demand, Evening In->Out demand. In the middle staff drive around and shift them. Great.

Thus its not a big surprise that you need van space in the vicinity of each station. So why the hell have we got this bullsh1t going on? (Photo Credit to CycleDub).

Could we not have planned for this?

Good old CycleDub, Dublin's own Victor Meldrew of cycling. It's like he is stalking the bike stations. I doubt people really find this a problem.

I'm not sure what should be done, after all, you can say the same about buses pulling in to load/offload passengers.

beauf · 04-09-2017 11:51pm

Whats with the anti-social spamming of photos?

Is it actually causing a problem the parking of these vans?

ED E · 04-09-2017 11:54pm

jimmycrackcorm wrote: »

I'm not sure what should be done, after all, you can say the same about buses pulling in to load/offload passengers.

Busses dont drive over concrete curbs to load/unload like DBikes and also dwell for like 90s tops vs 10-15 mins. Not comparable.

All they needed do was add a dedicated space at the end of each station with an electric bollard for the van. The vast majority have the room. You have the ESB pedestal and networking already present and all.

ED E · 04-09-2017 11:55pm

beauf wrote: »

Is it actually causing a problem the parking of these vans?

Tis. Check out how they do it at Portabello (cant find a pic right now).

beauf · 05-09-2017 12:14am

ED E wrote: »

Tis. Check out how they do it at Portabello (cant find a pic right now).

What problem specifically.

You can't get by them?
They block cars? (really?)
They get parking tickets?
They cause a dangerous hazard?

ED E · 05-09-2017 12:17am

Block a contra flow cycle lane which is asking for a head on collision between two cyclists.

beauf · 05-09-2017 12:30am

I think cyclists who cycle head on into each other around an obvious obstacle need to cop on.

Parking provision for the trucks should be there. But I think you are expecting competency where there is no history of any.

veryangryman · 15-09-2017 8:24am

Sorry to bump, but what is the planned expansion (does anyone have a future map of stations) and why is it delayed?

Dublin Bikes - expansion stalled?

Comments