'Free' bicycles mooted for use in Dublin city centre

Dublin City Council is considering the introduction of "free" bicycles in the city centre in an attempt to lessen the daily inner-city gridlock.

The council is to seek expressions of interest from companies to run the scheme that would mirror municipal bike systems in other European cities such as Amsterdam and Copenhagen.

Under proposals put forward by Labour councillor Andrew Montague, the bicycles would be free for use within a specified city area and could be collected from various on-street sites.

Cyclists would be able to release a bike for a nominal deposit and could retrieve their coin from another "bike station" at the end of their journey, similar to the use of a supermarket shopping trolley.

The system could be devised in a way that would minimise vandalism and theft, Mr Montague said, while still making the bicycles available to the widest number of users.

"The bikes would be very distinctive looking. You could only cycle them in the central city zone and there would be a fine for anyone found taking them outside that area."

Special features could be incorporated into the design so that the bicycles could not be "harvested" for parts, he said.

"The bikes would be non-standard in that you couldn't take the saddle or the pedals off to use on your own bike. The tyres could be solid rubber with no air in them, so while they would be ideal for use for short journeys in the city, they would be too heavy for long trips." The Green Party tried to pilot a municipal bike scheme almost 10 years ago, leaving eight bicycles on Dublin streets with instructions for users to leave them unlocked on a main street for the next cyclist. The bicycles were stolen within hours.

The city council scheme would be more structured, Mr Montague said, and, in addition to the security features on the bike, a refundable deposit of about €2 would be required by the user.

"The scheme I've proposed is similar to one that's now working very well in Copenhagen. They first introduced free bikes in the 90s and it was a disaster; 1,000 bikes were stolen in the first three days. But they learned from that and incorporated security measures such as the non-standard parts and a deposit and now only 10 to 12 per cent of bikes are stolen a year.

"It shows that they're not less likely to steal in Copenhagen than we are, but the concept can still work."

Other cities have similar schemes. Often, as is the case in Lyons, in France, users must register with the local authority and require a credit card to release the bicycle. However, Mr Montague believes this would be a disincentive to use, particularly by the casual, spontaneous cyclist.

"I want someone who is in Dublin for the day to be able to hop on a bike at Heuston station and cycle to the city centre, or for tourists to get on a bike on O'Connell Street and cycle to Grafton Street, but they won't be able to do that if they have to pre-register."

While the details of the project will be worked out during the tender process, it likely that the major stumbling block will be the cost of insurance.

However, Mr Montague said advertising on the bikes, particularly if they had solid "spokeless" wheels, could go a long way to defray that cost.

Other likely costs would be the initial purchase price of the bikes, repair, maintenance and replacement of the fleet and the payment of workers to collect the bicycles and ensure there is always an even spread of units across the city.

An initial pilot project of 100 bicycles is likely to be introduced before full implementation of more than 1,000 bicycles is rolled out.

City spinners: other European schemes

Copenhagen

Bicycles are locked to racks at more than 100 points around the city and can be unlocked by depositing €3. The money is refunded on return to a rack.

Vienna

Bicycles are available at more than 50 terminals in the inner districts of the city. Users must register using their credit card and pay a €1 fee which entitles them to use one of the bikes for one hour, after which a higher charge applies.

Helsinki

Bicycles are available at more than 26 stands in the city centre for a €2 deposit which is refundable at any stand.

Munich

The Call-a-Bike system allows you to check out a bike using your mobile phone. If a green light is blinking on the lock, the bicycle is available and can be released by phoning a registration number. Rental is charged to the user's credit card at 7 cent a minute, to a maximum of €15 a day.

Lyons

A prepaid smart card is required to release bicycles from any of 175 locations across the city and suburbs. A long-term card requires proof of residence but cards valid for one week can be bought at kiosks. Rental is free for the first 30 minutes, 50 cent for the next 1½ hours and €1 or €2 for each additional hour.