Expansion of Dublin bikes scheme on hold due to funding

The planned expansion of the Dublin bikes scheme is on hold until further funding can be secured, according to Dublin City Council.

The scheme, which was initially launched in 2009, was due to be expanded northwards to Whitehall and DCU, eastwards further into the Docklands, southwards towards Clonskeagh/UCD and westwards towards Kilmainham and Inchicore involving a total of 5,000 bikes and 300 stations by the end of last year.

However the expansion was always dependant on securing sustainable long term funding for the scheme.

The council says all potential funding sources are being looked at including capital funding through the National Transport Authority, alteration of membership and/or usage fees, increasing the subscription base and generating more revenue through advertising.

The last expansion of the scheme was completed in November 2013 when it was extended to the Docklands and Heuston station. This increased the scheme to 101 stations and 1,500 bikes covering an area of roughly ten square kilometres in the heart of the city.

Coca-Cola Ireland has sponsored the scheme since 2014.

It costs almost €2 million to operate the scheme every year and this cost is met by a combination of subscriber annual memberships, short term memberships, journey usage fees and corporate sponsorship of the scheme as ‘Coca-Cola Zero dublinbikes’.

This corporate partnership contributes €300,000 each year toward the running of the scheme. Any deficit in the annual funding requirement is met by Dublin City Council.

Currently an annual membership card for the scheme costs €20 and a three-day ticket costs €5.

A total of 70,552 customers took more than 2.6 million journeys in the year to the end of August 2015, meaning each bike in the city was taken on more than 220 journeys a month, with the scheme generating an estimated €1.2 million in user revenue.