Coca-Cola Ireland will sponsor the Dublin bikes scheme for the next three years in a partnership agreement announced today.

Dublin City Council and JCDecaux Ireland announced that Coca-Cola Zero will become the commercial partner of Dublin bikes at a ceremony on Hanover Quay.

The deal, worth almost €2 million,will see the scheme rebranded as Coca-Cola Zero Dublin bikes. Coca-Cola Zero branding will appear on the bikes from the end of June.

Last month it was announced the soft drinks giant will also sponsor separate bike schemes in Galway, Limerick and Cork over the course of five years in a deal worth €3 million.

“Dublin city has had a world class public bike hire scheme since 2009,” said Lord Mayor Christy Burke. “The scheme has exceeded all expectations and over 7 million journeys have been taken so far. Dublin City Council always envisaged that commercial partnership would play an important part in funding the scheme’s expansion and in Coca-Cola Ireland, Dublin bikes has found a fitting partner.”

Minister of State for Public Transport Alan Kelly said cycling has increased by 40 per cent in Dublin City since the public bikes scheme began. He said the latest corporate partnership shows the “upward trajectory that cycling is going to go on”.

Dublin City Council and JCDecaux launched the current expansion of the bike scheme in November, extending it westward towards Heuston Station and eastward to the Docklands.

There are some 42,000 active members on the scheme, with close to a million journeys taken to date in 2014. The busiest ever day was June 12th 2014.