Real Life: The chain gang - Irish Independent

More than 22,000 people have already signed up to the bike-sharing programme launched in Dublin in September, making it the most popular scheme of its kind in Europe

By Rita de Brun

Monday January 04 2010

Dublin bikes, the city-centre bike-sharing programme, has been a huge success since its launch in mid-September by Dublin City Council and JCDecaux. So far, more than 22,000 have signed up, making it the most popular of its type in Europe.

The average usage time for each bicycle is between 16 and 17 minutes, with most cyclists using them to commute between home and work, and travel around the city at leisure.

The company's bike rental scheme in Paris ran into difficulties just 18 months after its launch, when half of the original fleet of 15,000 specially made bikes went missing, presumed stolen.

According to reports, the bikes, which were used 42 million times since their introduction, succumbed in large numbers to vandalism, with many being hung from lamp posts or dumped in the River Seine.

Others featured on YouTube clips, being ridden down steps at Montmartre and into metro stations.

Stolen

No such daring escapades have been associated with the Irish experience. In fact, according to Councillor Andrew Montague, who first proposed the scheme in June 2004, to date only one bike has been reported as stolen, and that turned up within a couple of days when it was returned by somebody who had taken it home and forgotten to bring it back.

Of course the scheme isn't pitched only at Dubliners. It's anticipated that the 5.6 million tourists who visit the capital every year will now be able to hop on one of the 450 bikes available at 40 stations.

In turn, Dublin users can use the bike-share rental schemes operated by JCDecaux in Brussels and Lyon if they visit those cities.

Cllr Montague, a keen cyclist who rides his own bike to work three days a week, believes that the scheme is entirely positive. "It's a great transport system for the city and a super way to travel," he says.

"Cycling increases fitness and reduces carbon emissions.

"I take the bus into work twice a week. It leaves me on O'Connell Street, so from there, I hop on a dublinbike (db) and cycle to City Hall. It takes two minutes.

"Most days I have meetings in the Dail or over at Labour Party HQ in Ely Place, so jumping on a bike is the ideal way for me to travel to those.

"I'm absolutely delighted with the popularity of the scheme and with the increased number of people cycling around the city, which increased by 60pc between 2005 and 2008.

"This September, the number of cyclists on O'Connell Street was 63pc higher than for the month of February, and the two factors responsible for that were dublinbikes and the bus gate.

Tom Kivlehan, a small business owner from Loughlinstown, Co Dublin, used dublinbikes twice in the past week.

"I've a small business so I usually travel into town by van," he says.

"It's a great scheme, but it would be better if it was expanded beyond the canals and if more was done to tackle the problem of cars parked in bicycle lanes along Camden Street and George's Street.

"Even though they're hazardous for cyclists, nothing seems to be done about them. I've seen gardai stroll by those without taking any action.

"Overall though, I'm delighted to see how popular the bikes are. If more could be done to lessen the traffic around town, I'm sure the numbers of users would increase."

Alicia O'Keefe (42), from Portobello, works from home but regularly uses dublinbikes for shopping and movie trips to the city centre. "There's a station beside my house," she says. "It takes 10 minutes to cycle into town so it's fast, even in traffic.

"I use the bikes for convenience rather than for exercise, but I hope they develop the scheme beyond the city centre, so I could cycle out to Blackrock to visit my parents. That way, I'd be able to incorporate cycling into my fitness regime."

Distance

Rosa Walsh says that a scheme similar to dublinbikes has been running in her home city of Barcelona in Spain for the past five or six years. "When I was living there I didn't use it because I had a long distance to travel to work, and I always took the underground," she says.

"Here in Dublin I ride my own bike to work every day. From Crumlin to the city centre takes just 10 minutes.

"I signed up for dublinbikes, so that I could hop on and off a bike when I'm pottering around town at weekends. It's faster and more enjoyable than walking if you have a fair distance to travel.

"When I'm riding, I try to keep to the quieter streets if possible, as I find that the taxi and bus drivers are quite aggressive towards cyclists -- they drive too close to us and it can be really scary at times.

"But nothing beats a leisurely cycle on a sunny day, so I don't plan to give it up any time soon."

Anne Marie Healy (28) is an advertising account manager who uses the scheme.

"I live on Synge Street and work on John Rogerson's Quay. If I travelled by bus, it would only take me one-third of the way.

"By hopping on a bike, my commute is 15 minutes. It's fantastic.

"I signed up for membership of dublinbikes in September, paying €10 for a long-term hire card. It's an entirely positive initiative. The only downside is the rain. But once you wear jeans and rain-gear, it's doable.

"Besides commuting bet-ween home and work I use dbs for travelling to meetings around town. I think it's a stylish, impressive way to travel.

"I have a car, but leave it at home most of the time. Cycling saves me €20 or €30 on .. taxi fares every month, helps keep me fit and cuts my carbon footprint.

"I don't just use dbs for work; one day I cycled to the Farmleigh Farmers' Market in the Phoenix Park. It felt good."

Colm Campbell (75) drives an MR2 and has been seen behind the wheel of a single-seater racing car at Mondelo Park.

"As I live in Clondalkin and my shop is in town, I don't cycle into work. It wouldn't be feasible for me, as the journey home in the evenings would be all uphill. Instead, I travel by van or car.

"I took a spin on a dublinbike the first day they became available on Exchequer Street. It had been a year since I'd cycled, but there was no difficulty, and I went bombing around the city centre.

"Because the bike didn't go very fast, I had to cycle like crazy to reach the speed I wanted. I think the bikes could really do with an extra gear, but I appreciate that because of traffic, and for safety reasons, they are designed that way.

Funny

"On my travels, I had to pop into a bank on St Step-hen's Green. When I got there, the two bank security guards stood watch over my bike, when I went in to do my business. It was funny. I think the plan is that you lock your bike when you leave it, but on that occasion mine was in safe hands.

"Users should remember to adjust the saddle height if necessary. The first time I got on one of the bikes, I discovered when I stopped that my feet were two inches off the ground.

"It was no problem, but it could have been, so it's worth remembering all the same.

"Cycling around the city can be extremely dangerous. I've seen a few people on those bikes cycling down one-way streets.

"Pedestrians stepping off the kerb to cross the street don't expect them, and don't look out for them. It shouldn't happen and somebody should ensure that it doesn't continue to.

"In all, I've tried dbs five or six times and I'd use them again as they're a great way to beat the traffic. The scheme is extremely well run. I see guys in trucks moving bikes from stations that have too many to those that don't have enough, all day long," Mr Campbell said.

- Rita de Brun

Irish Independent

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