DUBLIN’S CITY bicycle scheme, which was to see 450 bicycles available for rent across the city from the start of this month, will not be up and running until mid-September, Dublin City Council has confirmed.
The council has been installing the bicycle “stations”, where users will be able to pick up or drop off bicycles, since the end of April. Their construction, which was contracted to developer Mick Wallace, was to have taken nine weeks.
However, while many of the 40 stations are now complete, construction of some has been delayed because the chosen location was over utilities, such as gas pipes, which were not discovered until the ground was broken at the site.
“It is taking a bit longer than we expected, and the way the computer system, which monitors where the bikes are and controls their release, works, all the stations have to be ready before it can be switched on,” a council spokesman said.
Most of problems surrounding the relocation of utilities have now been ironed out, but the council has decided to delay the introduction of the bicycles until a Sunday in mid-September, most likely September 13th, to allow it to have a launch event which would not clash with the GAA season in Croke Park.
“We plan to have staff from the council and JC Decaux all heading off together from the Civic Offices on the 450 bikes and dispersing to the designated locations. We’ll be closing some streets for it, so we’ve deliberately doing it early on a Sunday,” the spokesman said.
“The only thing on on the 13th is the camogie final, but that’s not until the afternoon and we’re planning our event for the morning,” he said.
The bicycles are being provided through a deal between Dublin City Council and advertising multinational JC Decaux. Under the deal JC Decaux will provide and maintain the bicycles in exchange for a 15-year permission to use outdoor advertising space in Dublin estimated to be worth €1 million annually.
The advertising panels, about 100 of which were granted planning permission last year, were erected last summer. When the scheme was proposed the bicycles were to be made available once the advertising was erected.
However, the council took several months to find suitable sites for the stations.
The council originally intended the bicycles would be provided free, but it could not find anyone to run a free scheme. The bicycles, which will be available 5am- 12.30am seven days a week, will be free for the first 30 minutes of use, the next 30 minutes will cost 50 cent. There will be an increasing scale of fees for longer periods of time to encourage frequent return of bicycles to the stations.
Frequent users can buy an annual membership for €10. Non-members can also use the bicycles by giving a credit card number.
