Dublin Bikes [many] months on.

howiya

Nice to see feed back from our councillors

Chris_533976

Nice one

Ye need to put a huge dock at Heuston though. Thats a massive gap in the network and should have been done from day one IMO.

howiya

Chris_533976 wrote: »

Nice one

Ye need to put a huge dock at Heuston though. Thats a massive gap in the network and should have been done from day one IMO.

Can't have one at Heuston. Its a good bit away from nearest station. Plus the amount of people passing through would mean you would constantly need to fill/empty the station depending on the direction of commuter traffic

Chris_533976

True. But if you want integrated public transport, this is what has to be done. The main public transport ways into the city have to be linked with other forms of public transport.

howiya

Chris_533976 wrote: »

True. But if you want integrated public transport, this is what has to be done. The main public transport ways into the city have to be linked with other forms of public transport.

Is that not what the Luas and Dublin Bus do? Heuston Station is already well linked up imo

Capt'n Midnight

The rubber handlebar grips aren't as secure as they could be.

Anyone else noticed the gear cable being a little off on some ?



When do we get some more bikes

Run_to_da_hills

Perhaps they should now include a deluxe range of bicycles at a higher rental rate.

BrianD

rye1967 wrote: »

Andew Montague was just on the Marian Finucane show promoting the fact that if the stations have no docking spaces then they will tell you where the nearest free spaces are.

But when I collected a bike a Merrion Sq last Weds evening and arrived at Capel St bridge station which was full, the list of suggested stations all related to where I had picked up the bike - St Stephen Green, Fitzwilliam St etc. Luckily I knew there was a station at the other end of Capel St, and luckily, it did have spaces when I went there.

So, a buglet there that needs to be fixed.

you should check out dublinbikes2go.com or the official iPhone app which is also handy for checking availability. When the system told you that 3 stations with docking were where you started your journey it is quite possible that they were the nearest at that point in time. It was suggested by Mr. Montague that you call the if there are no spaces available at your destination.

And, I would suggest that if the system could display a map with the nearby stations, irrespective of full status, that would be useful. Would help people learn where the stations are. I "discovered" one convenient for me on Blessington St the other evening.

I think all stations do have a map on the other side of the kiosk.

Also, I have NEVER seen a Man-with-a-Van collecting any of the bikes from a full station to re-distribute them to another station. What hours do these guys work and how many of there are there?

I see the bike truck and the vans doing the rounds regularly. Mr van man was cleaning the station at Jervis today.

This week I encountered my first case of a problem with a bike, the saddle adjuster clip wouldn't close, so I pointed the saddle backwards when leaving the bike back. I wonder if it worked.

I have suggested to them that there should be a way of reporting faults via the terminal screens. They can just have a list of basic faults that you can select - saddle, puncture, gears, lights etc.

Duckjob

I've made regular use of the scheme since it launched and couldn't praise it highly enough. Makes it so quick and easy to get around town now.

The bikes also seem to be maintained very well, although I've have a couple of bikes with loose saddles.

I'm also amazed that the bikes haven't been kicked to bits by drunken fools the way most private bikes would be if locked in town at night.

Run_to_da_hills

Duckjob wrote: »

I'm also amazed that the bikes haven't been kicked to bits by drunken fools the way most private bikes would be if locked in town at night.

I think CCTV would take care of that.

BrianD

AMontague wrote: »

The four new stations will be: Smithfield, Eccles Street, Charlemont and Richmond Street.

.

I'm presuming a typo here but are there not stations at these locations? Would love to see new stations in the north and south docklands. There's nothing east of Guild St./Cardiff Lane.

dazberry

howiya wrote: »

Can't have one at Heuston. Its a good bit away from nearest station. Plus the amount of people passing through would mean you would constantly need to fill/empty the station depending on the direction of commuter traffic

Ultimately some hard decisions are going to have to be made about Heuston, because as the network expands it will eventually have to expand west to facilitate the likes of the Royal Hospital and Kilmainham Goal - where I have seen (dub)bikes chained to lampposts etc. Maybe Heuston will never have a station, or maybe a station in Heuston would work a bit differently - it just takes a bit of lateral thinking.

D.

Capt'n Midnight

dazberry wrote: »

Ultimately some hard decisions are going to have to be made about Heuston, because as the network expands.

Academic unless there are more bikes to come.

positron

Talbot St is a good example of what happens when bike docs are too close to station. Its empty by 8am, and remains so till at least 9:30am. In the evening, its always full between 5:30 to 7pm!

Silly idea - may be they could offer free rentals, or free credit to annual account, if someone want to take a bike from a full-doc to an empty-doc during peak hours?

PS: Spoke too soon! There were at least half a dozen bikes at Talbot street around 9:15 this morning. Pleasantly surprised

BrianD

Have to admit that I was a bit challenged to find empty spaces in the north inner city last night. Having said that we found one in Jervis and another on Ormonde Quay. We were going to The Academy so it was no big walk to the ultimate destination from either station.

I find having the info accessable by mobile really useful.

Run_to_da_hills

If the roads are slippy in Dublin would DB lock the system?

They are lethal in this part of the country.

seamus

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

If the roads are slippy in Dublin would DB lock the system?

They are lethal in this part of the country.

Would they close the roads and footpaths too?
The main roads in Dublin are rarely very slippery because they're treated. The city centre in particular doesn't freeze quite like the rest of the county - it's overall warmer than everywhere else for a number of reasons.

irishguy

positron wrote: »

Silly idea - may be they could offer free rentals, or free credit to annual account, if someone want to take a bike from a full-doc to an empty-doc during peak hours?

This seems like a good idea. If some way could be taught of to incentivise riders to drop back bikes to empty stations/pick them up from fuller stations. This could reduce the operating costs for the service.

Some sort of scheme where you could build up credit to pay for bike rental/the annual fee maybe???


Also would it be possible to mark all the stations on google maps/bing? to encourage people to use them more (especially tourists) or even connect the schemes around europe so you can use your card in any of the citys that have this?

markpb

The Sunday Times gave the bike scheme a very positive write up this morning.

City bike-rental takes off among honest Dubliners

They may have beaten us at football but when it comes to cycling, we’re zipping past the French. The Dublin public bike scheme has proved a huge success, with 22,762 people signing up in the first three months — and not a single bike has gone missing. In Paris, by contrast, thefts are a big problem.

Some 16,000 cyclists in Dublin registered for annual subscriptions — 16 times more than the city council had expected based on similar operations in Paris and Lyon. Figures show that members are using their bikes six times more frequently than their Parisian counterparts, with an average of 2,253 journeys a day.

None of the 450 Dublinbikes’ cycles has had to be replaced and any incidents of vandalism have been minor. One bike was stolen but recovered within 24 hours. Several bikes leased on short-term contracts were not returned but were subsequently located undamaged.

The rest of the article is here. And hilariously, it ends with this:

One of the free Dublin bikes was stolen in the early days of the scheme. The thief nicked the bicycle from a subscriber while it was on hire. The hapless criminal then took it to a bike shop where he asked the owner to strip it down. The owner, recognising the distinct metal frame and large blue wheel cover with ‘Dublin City’ marked clearly on it, contacted the gardai and the bike was returned within 24 hours.

lostexpectation

montague doens't mention the advertising hoardings , lalala

dolliemix

I'm loving the db scheme. Have used it regularly and introduced my 68 year old dad to it over Christmas. He's on to all his mates now. I've found places in Dublin that I didn't know existed.

Enii

I think the success of this scheme indicates how this was something that was really lacking in Dublin - an alternative form of transport. Something that is cheap and runs well - as opposed to the public transport system!

BrianD

Enii wrote: »

I think the success of this scheme indicates how this was something that was really lacking in Dublin - an alternative form of transport. Something that is cheap and runs well - as opposed to the public transport system!

I couldn't disagree more. There's 450 bikes within the canals. Most people have never used it and it is hardly an alternative form of public transport. It is a replacement for taxis, walking or for short public transport usage within the canals (or there abouts)

monument

BrianD wrote: »

I couldn't disagree more. There's 450 bikes within the canals. Most people have never used it and it is hardly an alternative form of public transport. It is a replacement for taxis, walking or for short public transport usage within the canals (or there abouts)

Loads of people do not use the Dart or Luas. So, what's you're point?

Many Luas trips are taken within the canals. So, again, what's your point?

Could you explain why it is not an alternative form of transport?

petermijackson

I love the scheme but I find that the stations are not located at the best locations(for me anyways ). For example the station at Stephen's Green should be closer to the Luas stop. Also the one on Nassau street - this is a one way road going away from the City Centre. You have most probably passed the location that you will have to walk back to.

It would appear that the vast majority of stations are at locations away from where people start and finish journeys using other modes of transport. - Major bus stops at the Green would be an example - train and Luas stations another.

Also imagine how handy it would be to finish your shopping in Grafton Street pick up a cycle and head for O'Connell Street/Henry Street area but because of the one way systems it is quicker to walk.....I think before the scheme was rolled out there should have been infastructure changes made in the city to make cycling more appealling and safe.

As I said I like (maybe love was too strong of a word) but some small changes would make it so much better and popular

Aard

petermijackson wrote: »

Also imagine how handy it would be to finish your shopping in Grafton Street pick up a cycle and head for O'Connell Street/Henry Street area but because of the one way systems it is quicker to walk.....I think before the scheme was rolled out there should have been infastructure changes made in the city to make cycling more appealling and safe.

I think that the one-way system should apply to motor-vehicles only. As long as the streets are wide enough, there should be contra-flow bicycle-lanes throughout the city-centre.

Enii

BrianD wrote: »

I couldn't disagree more. There's 450 bikes within the canals. Most people have never used it and it is hardly an alternative form of public transport. It is a replacement for taxis, walking or for short public transport usage within the canals (or there abouts)

Look at my original point. I said it was an alternative form of transport not PUBLIC transport.

ronbyrne2005

Be carefull in icy conditions on those bikes. The tyres are non puncture ones that have little or no threads and no grip on even moderate icy roads.

Gonzales

Aard wrote: »

I think that the one-way system should apply to motor-vehicles only. As long as the streets are wide enough, there should be contra-flow bicycle-lanes throughout the city-centre.

let's not get carried away now , from what I read here about bike accidents the regular bike lanes are not very safe.

monument

petermijackson wrote: »

I love the scheme but I find that the stations are not located at the best locations(for me anyways ). For example the station at Stephen's Green should be closer to the Luas stop. Also the one on Nassau street - this is a one way road going away from the City Centre. You have most probably passed the location that you will have to walk back to.

It would appear that the vast majority of stations are at locations away from where people start and finish journeys using other modes of transport. - Major bus stops at the Green would be an example - train and Luas stations another.

there's only one major train station that no bike station is near and that's because it's outside the area of bike station system. There's ones on or near all major bus stop streets and near a few Luas stops too. The reason there's not one closer to the Luas stop at the Green is I'd guess that sid of the park is due to be turned into a building site with Metro North and the Interconnector construction.

Also imagine how handy it would be to finish your shopping in Grafton Street pick up a cycle and head for O'Connell Street/Henry Street area but because of the one way systems it is quicker to walk.....I think before the scheme was rolled out there should have been infastructure changes made in the city to make cycling more appealling and safe.

there's no way it's quicker to walk. What one way system is stopping you?