Bike scheme aims to reduce cars on city roads

Date Published: 17-Nov-2011

By Jessica Thompson

Cyclists may be able to avail of a bike rental scheme in Galway city for as little as €10 per year next summer, according to a public bike symposium at NUI Galway earlier this week.

The symposium was one of four held in cities across Ireland this month by Minister of State at the Department of Transport Alan Kelly in order to gauge the level of interest in such schemes from local stakeholders.

A feasibility report commissioned by the Department of Transport to explore the potential for rolling out bike rental schemes in regional cities this year found that Galway was the city most suitable for such a scheme.

Speaking at the symposium, Minister Kelly said: “The Government believes public bike schemes in Waterford, Limerick, Galway and Cork will enhance the city centres.”

The Dublinbikes scheme in the capital had proven to be a resounding success since its launch in 2009, he said, and it now boasted more than 63,000 members with over 2.5 million journeys having been made by users.

A recently-published report carried out by the National Transport Authority (NTA) revealed that a similar bike scheme in Galway would require between 200 and 250 bikes over 23 docking stations within a four square kilometre area around the city.

“There are a number of reasons why a bike scheme would benefit Galway city. This is a sustainable transport that is efficient and easy to use. It would allow users to avoid the heavy traffic congestion and high parking costs of Galway city,” Anne Graham of the NTA explained.

The symposium was told that membership of the bike scheme could be expected to be extremely economical, with a 3-day cost of €2 and an annual membership of €10.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.