After months of empty racks and speculation, the dublinbikes scheme finally kicked into gear in mid-September. A month on, Dean Van Nguyen caught up with the man on the street to see how he was taking to life on two wheels
They instantly looked as if they’d been here forever. Four hundred and fifty bikes, available to rent for free (kind of) from 40 terminals between the Royal and the Grand canals. Blue and grey, modelled on the upright Dutch style, snazzy in appearance. We finally had them. But then came the questions: Is cycling en masse best left to the Euros? Can Dublin accommodate any more cyclists? How soon before they all get nicked? I set out to get the answers and – gulp – to take my first ever ride on a “db.” More on that later.
The scheme in a nutshell: you can sign up for either a Long Term Hire Card (€10 per year) or a three-day ticket (€2) – both also require a €150 credit-card guarantee, which is only deducted if you fail to return the bike within 24 hours. Once registered, you can rent a bike from any of 40 terminals between 5am and 12.30am (no drunkenly grabbing a db after Coppers, then) and return it to any station, 24 hours a day. The first 30 minutes are free; after that there’s a half-hourly charge.
Statistically, this has been the most popular city bike scheme to date in Europe. Dublin City Council had originally predicted 5000 subscribers for the first year, but found themselves with 11,000 applications in the first fortnight alone. Paul Heffernan from Dublin City Council is delighted with these figures. “It’s been massively successful so far. We’ve got more subscribers than anticipated so we’re very happy with that.” And what of new users left waiting for cards? “[When] there were no cards left, we issued people with a PIN number, valid for 60 days, which they could use straight away. In the meantime, everyone got their cards.”
So how are the punters finding it? Brendan Nagel works in the public service and finds the dbs handy for getting around the city. “I have to go from one end of town to the other. It usually takes about 15 minutes, but today it took me just four minutes. So it’s very handy.”
“I actually cycle to work on my own bike and use these around town,” Donacha Pearly, who had just signed up to the scheme, told us. “The only problem is that there’s not a big enough network. It’s focused from Stephen’s Green to the Mater in a narrow corridor. They don’t have it at Busaras, they don’t have it at the National Museum. They don’t have it at Heuston or Connolly, or anywhere you might expect to get them.”
Paul Heffernan explained the logistics: “If you look at the map of the city, it’s a fairly tight city-centre ring. If [the scheme] was expanded, you’d be looking to add another ring around it. Another way to expand it would be to have more bikes within the existing systems.” As we go to press, Dublin City Council has announced plans to do just that: more bikes will be made available at existing stations, and in the long term, the plan is to add more locations too.
Each station must be reasonably close to the next to ensure that there isn’t a great distance to travel should one be full. For example, if you were cycling to Heuston to make a train and there were no spaces at the terminal, you’d be in a spot of bother.
We found that some users also have trouble with the computer interface at the db terminals. “The system is not user-friendly at all. The first time I used it I had to get help. It’s quite complicated,” Martin Lynch, a self-employed native of Rathmines told us. In truth though, there haven’t been too many teething problems considering the size of this initiative. (And considering this is Ireland.)
So are the bikes a red rag to vandals? Not yet anyway, according to Paul Heffernan. “There have been very few problems with theft or vandalism. There’s only been one bike stolen. That was taken by someone who had it on hire.” Though damaged, the bike was soon recovered.
Some Dubliners, however, are still not convinced the scheme is for them. I caught Rita Price from Skerries having a look at a terminal and although she welcomes the initiative, she doesn’t see herself renting a bike anytime soon. “I’d say with traffic, the streets would have to be made more safe.” Indeed, safety seems to be the number one reason why many are hesistant to subscribe.
Dr Mike McKillen is a spokesperson for the Dublin Cycling Campaign, a group which lobbies to make the city more cycle-friendly, and also the chairman of cyclist.ie. He insists that cycling is not a dangerous activity and believes the dublinbikes will make our roads safer. “It will create a critical mass of cyclists. We find that the more cyclists you have on the streets, the safer those streets become.”
A regular Dublin cyclist since 1971, Mike doesn’t believe extra cycling lanes are practical, or even necessary. “This is basically a medieval city and the road layout reflects that origin. Some people want segregated bike lanes, but that’s not possible here. It’s more about knowing how to interact with traffic.”
I tried to focus on Mike’s words as I nervously swiped my subscriber card at the Exchequer Street db terminal. I didn’t find the system difficult to get to grips with; a couple more times and I’m sure it would only be a matter of seconds between walking up to the terminal and cycling away again.
Though it had clearly been manufactured with longevity in mind, my bike still handled like a dream as I made my way up Clarendon Street. My initial plan was to cycle towards Merrion Row, returning the bike to the terminal closest to The Dubliner offices, but I abandoned my intended route after getting caught up in an awkward one-way system. I ended up on the far side of Stephen’s Green via Mercer Street, making good use of the bell as pedestrians skipped across the road in front of me. The sight of an unexpected terminal on the far side of Stephen’s Green looked heaven-sent, so I decided to quit while I was ahead.
The joy of this scheme is that it will encourage people like me who have never cycled around the city to try it. The many parking stations are also a help – anyone who has had to tie their own bike precariously to a random lamppost will understand the benefits. While my heart was occasionally in overdrive, I really enjoyed my short spin around town, and with so many well-documented benefits – zero carbon emissions, decreased traffic congestion, exercise – I’m planning on cracking that route in the near future.
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