1,500 subscribe to new cycling scheme

THE DUBLIN bikes scheme that begins tomorrow has already 1,500 subscribers, Dublin City Council has said.

The scheme will be launched at 9.30am from Winetavern Street adjacent to the Civic Offices.

The scheme is financed by French-based advertising agency JC Decaux and has been years in the planning. A total of 450 bicycles have been placed in 40 city centre locations from the Mater hospital in the north of the city to Grand Canal Street in the south.

In order to register, a person needs to leave a €150 deposit using either a credit card or a bank draft, which will be taken if the bicycle is not returned.

An annual subscription is €10 and a three-day pass is €2.

Prices to hire a bicycle range from nothing for a half an hour to €4.50 for six hours and €2 every half hour after that. The tariff is designed to encourage using the bicycles only for short trips.

A cyclist can pick up a bicycle at one point, leave it to another point within an hour and pick up another bicycle without incurring any extra charge.

Each of the distinctive silver bicycles have three gears, a basket and a lock for those who park in between bicycle stations.

The scheme will be launched by Labour councillor Andrew Montague who first proposed it five years ago. “I think it will be particularly attractive to people who don’t own a bike but are open to the many advantages of cycling,” he said.

“Anyone using the scheme from Sunday on will see that it’s an efficient, pleasant and fun way to get around.”

It is hoped each bicycle will be used nine times per day, yielding about 4,000 bike journeys. The scheme is similar to the one that has been operating in Paris, Lyons, Copenhagen and 15 other cities.