Dublin bikes to be expanded

kenmc

10fold expansion!
Great news.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/1112/1224283153335.html wrote:

A TENFOLD expansion of the Dublin bike scheme from 500 to 5,000 bikes, which will be available to use from UCD to DCU, is planned by Dublin City Council.

The five-year expansion plan will see the number of bike stations across the city increased from just over 40 to about 300, bringing the service into the suburbs.

The expansion will take place in 14 phases radiating out from the current 41 locations. The area east of the current stations to the Docklands and west to Heuston Station will be the first areas of expansion, followed by the inner suburbs of Dolphin’s Barn, East Wall, Phibsboro, Cabra and Ranelagh.

seamus

Wow, fantastic news indeed. Hopefully they'll update the terms of the service somewhat - maybe the time you have is dependent on where you leave the bike. i.e. if you grab a bike on Dame Street and drop it off in UCD, you have 90 minutes, but if you grab it on Dame Street to go to Portobello, you get 30 minutes?

Blowfish

Good news for once, especially this bit:

The Department of Transport and the National Transport Authority were committed to assisting the completion of the first two phases to the Docklands and Heuston and private companies were “more than willing” to fund bike stations outside their premises, he added.

maximoose

thats fantastic news, glad to hear it!

BeerNut

Fantastic news. Having visited London and Paris recently, and seen the scope of their schemes, it's great that we can expect similar coverage here.

Lumen

Good news.

Some front suspension would be nice. I'm fed up of losing stuff out of the baskets. Or they could fix the potholes.

Heisenberg.

This post has been deleted.

HivemindXX

Lumen wrote: »

Good news.

Some front suspension would be nice. I'm fed up of losing stuff out of the baskets. Or they could fix the potholes.

A basket cover is probably a better idea. Fix a stretchy net to one side with a few hooks on the other side so you can hold down your shopping bungee cord style.

droidus

Does this also mean we'll have ten times the amount of lunatics doing all the bad things that a lot of DB users seem to do?

loyatemu

HivemindXX wrote: »

A basket cover is probably a better idea. Fix a stretchy net to one side with a few hooks on the other side so you can hold down your shopping bungee cord style.

use the lock!

I always wrap the lock around whatever I have in the basket - mainly to stop any opportunist thieves, but it also stops things bouncing out.

Undercover Elephant

Great news on so many levels.

I'm not at all surprised that private companies want to support the scheme, especially in the south Docklands where the public transport options are dire.

Cue complaints from Labour councillors that the council is prostituting itself, and kudos to DCC for ignoring this silliness and pursuing a great scheme.

petethedrummer

Undercover Elephant wrote: »

Cue complaints from Labour councillors that the council is prostituting itself, and kudos to DCC for ignoring this silliness and pursuing a great scheme.

like this guy? http://www.labour.ie/andrewmontague/

oneiron

I heard reference on the radio y/day to '10 phases' covering a wide variety of areas. Has anyone found a document describing these phases, with more detail on which areas are involved? It would be good to get a sense of what stations might be where, when. I've looked around the DCC website, and dublinbikes.ie, but no sign of any detail there...

thanks

NeedMoreGears

Scien wrote: »

I hope this isn't an empty promise and they get cracking straight away. A few stations beyond the canals are badly needed; Harolds Cross, Rathmines, Ranelagh, Ballsbridge, Ringsend & Sandymount...

Don't you mean Fairview, Clontarf,Marino,Drumcondra,Glasnevin........????;)

Raam

I'd love one near Eastpoint. I knock into town regularly at lunch or after work and I'd much prefer not to have to use my own bike. I usually walk in if going after work.

superrdave

Mr Keogan said he would be reluctant to fund the expansion through an increase in charges, which would “alienate the population”.

Yeay!

dayshah

Undercover Elephant wrote: »

Great news on so many levels.

I'm not at all surprised that private companies want to support the scheme, especially in the south Docklands where the public transport options are dire.

Cue complaints from Labour councillors that the council is prostituting itself, and kudos to DCC for ignoring this silliness and pursuing a great scheme.

Wasn't it mainly Labour who have been promoting bike friendly policies? I don't why you are trying to get a dig in on Labour with regard to cycling.

Doctor Bob

oneiron wrote: »

I heard reference on the radio y/day to '10 phases' covering a wide variety of areas. Has anyone found a document describing these phases, with more detail on which areas are involved? It would be good to get a sense of what stations might be where, when. I've looked around the DCC website, and dublinbikes.ie, but no sign of any detail there...

thanks

The proposed phasing is a bit of a dog's dinner- one in the south east, then two in the west, then one up north, then another one in the west... That sort of thing. Seems like the phasing is happening according to ease of implementation, rather than according to any sensible, sustainable expansion.

I strongly suspect that the current problems - no bikes at some stands in the morning when you need one, no spaces at the stands when you want to park - will be exacerbated by the work programme. I mean, who wants to get a bike at Merrion Square to go to UCD, only to find that the UCD stand is full and the next nearest one is in Ballsbridge? The only sensible option for expansion is to ensure that each new stand is <300m (the notional maximum distance between stations) from an existing one. Leapfrogging large swathes of the city because space exists in the suburbs just won't deliver.

But that aside, great news.

@seamus- I doubt they'd extend the time limits for longer journeys. The solution in other cities with more extensive schemes is that users make interim stops to stay under the 30 minute limit. Don't get me wrong, I'm no flag waver for Decaux, but the scheme has to make a few quid somehow, right?

petethedrummer

dayshah wrote: »

Wasn't it mainly Labour who have been promoting bike friendly policies? I don't why you are trying to get a dig in on Labour with regard to cycling.

Yes, mainly Labour Councillor Andrew Montague.

Undercover Elephant

dayshah wrote: »

I don't why you are trying to get a dig in on Labour with regard to cycling.

I'm not. I'm getting a dig in about the paranoia of some Labour councillors about the taint of filthy private lucre. Like this one:

Dublin city councillors has voted to allow more advertising hoardings to pay for an extra 100 bikes for the Dublin bike scheme ...

Labour's Aodhan O'Riordain said the council was 'prostituting' itself to commercial interests.

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0510/transport.html

tomasrojo

That's quite an expansion. I'm very happy to hear it.

I do suspect that it's the cheapest way to counteract the coming cutbacks in buses. If you can cycle, aren't going too far and aren't carrying too much, it's a much better option than buses anyway.

ten speed racer

Undercover Elephant wrote: »

I'm not. I'm getting a dig in about the paranoia of some Labour councillors about the taint of filthy private lucre. Like this one:

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0510/transport.html

It is a bit odd that you're criticizing Labour when it was Labour councillors, and particulary Andrew Montague, who initiated the Dublin Bike scheme and other bike friendly advances.

mockler007

Lumen wrote: »

Good news.

Some front suspension would be nice. I'm fed up of losing stuff out of the baskets. Or they could fix the potholes.

fully sussed lumen???
who knows
imagine

monument

Undercover Elephant wrote: »

I'm not. I'm getting a dig in about the paranoia of some Labour councillors about the taint of filthy private lucre. Like this one:

http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0510/transport.html

Also:

“I don’t doubt of a moment that the Dublin Bikes scheme has being a success but I have always said that the cost of selling our public space on our footpaths for me was always too high and I think we need to have a full and rigorous assessment of that,” said former lord mayor Cllr Emer Costello (Labour).

http://dublinobserver.com/2010/07/bike-scheme-advertising-questioned/

ten speed racer wrote: »

It is a bit odd that you're criticizing Labour when it was Labour councillors, and particulary Andrew Montague, who initiated the Dublin Bike scheme and other bike friendly advances.

It's a party, not everybody in it has the same views.

lucernarian

I'm also wondering, where is there further information on this supposed plan? I've only seen media articles giving a very brief outline of what the aspirations of the council are over the next 5 years.

I've found nothing on the council website either.

Sacred_git

Brilliant news, best thing the council has done ever!! The bikes are just damn great!

spokeydokey

Page 20 of today's Sunday Tribune,

'Council in drive to lure motorists back to city centre'.

Can't find the article on their website.

darksharkster

spokeydokey wrote: »

Page 20 of today's Sunday Tribune,

'Council in drive to lure motorists back to city centre'.

Can't find the article on their website.

Here it is: http://www.tribune.ie/article/2010/dec/05/council-in-drive-to-lure-motorists-back-to-the-cit/

Is the council looking for increased revenue or looking for more people to come into the city I wonder.

tomasrojo

darksharkster wrote: »

Here it is: http://www.tribune.ie/article/2010/dec/05/council-in-drive-to-lure-motorists-back-to-the-cit/

Is the council looking for increased revenue or looking for more people to come into the city I wonder.

The councils apparently get quite a bit of money from car parking.

http://www.cyclist.ie/2010/11/motorists-fork-out-e360m-for-parking-their-cars/

IRISH motorists spent €360m last year on car parking fees, with a large part of the money being paid to local authorities for on-street parking. Full article – Independent.ie

Cyclist.ie argue that the excessive reliance by councils on parking revenue creates an incentive to remove road space for cyclists – and that local councils should be properly funded – by local taxation

lucernarian

I'm giving this a bump. I've heard nothing about actual plans for this expansion yet, I'm getting the feeling that the press release was a pie in the sky notion or that we'll wait about ten years or so until DCC have money again!

Bluefoam

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

I'm giving this a bump. I've heard nothing about actual plans for this expansion yet, I'm getting the feeling that the press release was a pie in the sky notion or that we'll wait about ten years or so until DCC have money again!

This is privately funded and by advertising. So the council don't need money to make it happen.

monument

Bluefoam wrote: »

This is privately funded and by advertising. So the council don't need money to make it happen.

The council has said advertising alone would not fund a large scale expansion.

To_be_confirmed wrote: »

I'm giving this a bump. I've heard nothing about actual plans for this expansion yet, I'm getting the feeling that the press release was a pie in the sky notion or that we'll wait about ten years or so until DCC have money again!

To be fair to the council I don't think it's their fault. And all they said is that they want to expand the system, but that depends on central government.

It's up to the NTA and the Government to fund it. It was in the programme for Government that it would be expanded to the wider Dublin area, not just the city council area.

Undercover Elephant

monument wrote: »

The council has said advertising alone would not fund a large scale expansion.

Didn't they also say that there were businesses queuing up to sponsor stations? I got the impression (maybe wrongly) that they wouldn't need a lot of public money to fund the expansion.

lennymc

http://www.dublinbikes.ie/Magazine/News

4 new stations have opened since last december according to the dublin bikes website.

studiorat

mockler007 wrote: »

fully sussed lumen???
who knows
imagine

Would sort out the cycle lane issues anyway.

Undercover Elephant

lennymc wrote: »

http://www.dublinbikes.ie/Magazine/News

4 new stations have opened since last december according to the dublin bikes website.

It also includes congratulations on 2 million trips from Lord Mayor Gerry Breen:

The project has been a great partnership between Dublin City Council, JCDecaux Ireland and the scheme’s many members. It has re-introduced the bicycle as a form of transport in the city and has encouraged both Dubliners and visitors to get more active while supporting a green initiative

Admittedly, this is not entirely consistent with certain of his other pronouncements on the subject of cycling. Like this one:

Cycling 'loolahs' were taking control of the city and should be stopped, Cllr Gerry Breen claimed today.

Cycling extremists had taken centre stage and "their unstated aim seems to be removing all car traffic from the city". Calling the move a health and safety issue was rubbish, he said. "Anything can be pushed under that heading. If we all stayed in bed there would be no car accidents and we'd all die of obesity and boredom," he quipped.

"You need a bit of sense. Hearses would travel faster than that," said Cllr Breen who has pledged to fight to have the decision reversed.

"I am incensed. We have to be sensible as councillors. Sometimes the best thing is to do nothing. If you can't improve something leave it alone."

The Fine Gael group had been unsuccessful in tabling a motion to have the decision overturned but now Cllr Bill Tormey is seeking to have standing orders suspended at the March 1 meeting of the council to reintroduce the motion against the go-slow zone.

He also said that for gardai policing the zone it would be "like shooting fish in a barrel".

Or this one:

ALL bicycles should have registration plates, a Dublin City councillor has claimed. Cllr Gerry Breen (pictured) will call for cyclists to bear the plates at tomorrow’s transport committee meeting.

Always good to have a convert, I say. :rolleyes: