Funding for expansion of Dublin Bikes

Kumsheen

http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0212/367348-leo-varadkar-transport/

"There will be an extension to the Dublin Bikes scheme, from Heuston Station to the O2 and the Docklands."

Jawgap

......and so it came to pass......

€35 million expansion of the Dublin bike scheme begins today

WoollyRedHat

Can someone explain to me how the Dublin Bus bikes scheme actually works? Would they expand it to the suburbs, or is there no point in doing that?

Jawgap

http://www.dublinbikes.ie/How-does-it-work

monument

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Would they expand it to the suburbs, or is there no point in doing that?

There's a plan to expand into the suburbs but the delay is mainly a matter of funding. It would cost a fair bit to expand the system and on-going costs also have to be covered.

the.red.baron

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Can someone explain to me how the Dublin Bus bikes scheme actually works? Would they expand it to the suburbs, or is there no point in doing that?

Washington has a bikeshare that would roughly cover the area within the m50 in Dublin with about 400 stations. It's a lot more touristy though and they do make use of it.

It's a good way to get into Town without having to worry about your bike or with the ability to not bike home if you choose.

The first 1/2 free or 1 hour for 50cents is good once you know where you are going

http://capitalbikeshare.com/stations

WoollyRedHat

the.red.baron wrote: »

Washington has a bikeshare that would roughly cover the area within the m50 in Dublin with about 400 stations. It's a lot more touristy though and they do make use of it.

It's a good way to get into Town without having to worry about your bike or with the ability to not bike home if you choose.

The first 1/2 free or 1 hour for 50cents is good once you know where you are going

http://capitalbikeshare.com/stations

That sounds like something that can be aspired to here then? The area within the m50, are we talking all the way to Bray distance wise?

Doctor Bob

WoollyRedHat wrote: »

Would they expand it to the suburbs, or is there no point in doing that?

The key to the success of a bike scheme is ease of use. Part of this is ease of parking at or near your destination. DBs have a maximum distance between stations of ~300m, so if your destination station is full you can go to the next nearest one.

The problem with proposals to extend the scheme into the suburbs is that there would have to be a network of stations at 300m intervals, but the movement patterns in the suburbs just wouldn't support that level of investment as the population and employment densities aren't sufficient, and if the 300m interval rule isn't adhered to, it's highly likely that users will be left in the awkward situation of having to go a mile in the opposite direction to get a docking space, largely negating the usefulness of the scheme.

For example, I heard a rumour that AIB was willing to fund a DB stand at their HQ in Ballsbridge. Fine in principle, but what happens if staff or visitors arrive to the station to find it full, and the next nearest one is at, say, UCD? I'd have no problem with locating a station at AIB eventually, but it shouldn't happen before all the interim station have been constructed.

(An associated problem is the scheme type that DCC has chosen, which required the stations to be fully wired into the network. Elsewhere [Washington DC? Melbourne? I can't remember exactly where...], the docking stations are more mobile and use wireless technology, so if a station turns out to be badly located it can just be moved to a potentially better spot. In Dublin that's very difficult, if not almost impossible, so more caution is required in choosing locations.)

tomasrojo

Over six million journeys so far, according to that IT article. Very impressive!

the.red.baron

Doctor Bob wrote: »

The key to the success of a bike scheme is ease of use. Part of this is ease of parking at or near your destination. DBs have a maximum distance between stations of ~300m, so if your destination station is full you can go to the next nearest one.

The problem with proposals to extend the scheme into the suburbs is that there would have to be a network of stations at 300m intervals, but the movement patterns in the suburbs just wouldn't support that level of investment as the population and employment densities aren't sufficient, and if the 300m interval rule isn't adhered to, it's highly likely that users will be left in the awkward situation of having to go a mile in the opposite direction to get a docking space, largely negating the usefulness of the scheme.

For example, I heard a rumour that AIB was willing to fund a DB stand at their HQ in Ballsbridge. Fine in principle, but what happens if staff or visitors arrive to the station to find it full, and the next nearest one is at, say, UCD? I'd have no problem with locating a station at AIB eventually, but it shouldn't happen before all the interim station have been constructed.

(An associated problem is the scheme type that DCC has chosen, which required the stations to be fully wired into the network. Elsewhere [Washington DC? Melbourne? I can't remember exactly where...], the docking stations are more mobile and use wireless technology, so if a station turns out to be badly located it can just be moved to a potentially better spot. In Dublin that's very difficult, if not almost impossible, so more caution is required in choosing locations.)

If you arrive at a station and it's full or empty the system isn't being managed properly.

monument

the.red.baron wrote: »

If you arrive at a station and it's full or empty the system isn't being managed properly.

It's a normal issue on most if not all successful on-street bike share systems in larger cities.