Bike Scheme Aims to Reduce Cars on City Roads

Published in the Galway City Tribune on 18 November 2011.

Cost for cyclists in Galway may be as little as €10 a year.

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 Dublin bikes 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.

Bicycles parked outside the Arts Millennium Building 

at NUI Galway during the Public Bike Schemes Symposium. 

Photo: Joe O'Shaughnessy. 

A recently-published report carried out by 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.

"Such a scheme has been tentatively costed at €1.7m in capital," and Anne Graham of the NTA, "and almost €4m in operating costs over 15 years plus the apportioned cost of a national control centre.

"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," she 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 annual membership of €10. Rental without membership would also be likely to be cheap, with the first hald hour of travel costing nothing.

Ms. Graham said that Galway is a very cycle-friendly city, as it is so compact and well suited to a bike-sharing scheme.

She described the scheme as an affordable, efficient means of travel, which aimed to get as many cars as possible off the road and people back on bikes and public transport.

The Galway Cycling Campaign has warmly welcomed the Government's interest in extending the bike share schemes to Galway and other cities, but has warned that a hard-nosed and holistic approach is needed to maximise the benefits.

"It has to operate as 'national' membership," said Oisin O'Nidh, campaign PRO, "a Dublin bike user should be able to get off the train and use a Galway bike and vice versa - membership of one bikeshare scheme should entitle the user to use all schemes."

The cyclists also stress that new design guidance will be needed to deliver the necessary infrastructural changed recommended by the consultants.

Campaign chair Shane Foran pointed out: "This is a bigger issue than bikeshare, in Ireland we also need guidance on suitable road widths in towns, advice on making traffic calming cyclist-friendly and safer layouts at traffic signals. These are all matters that are not well treated in current NTA guidance. Adopting outside design guidance in support of bikeshare will provide other vital tools to promote cycling."

18 Nov 2011

by Jessica Thompson