Dún Laoghaire needs a public bike scheme

Labour Cllr for Dún Laoghaire, Juliet O’Connell has said the recent failure of the Bleeper bike scheme in the town and county shows the urgent need for a public bike scheme as Labour pioneered in Dublin City.

A Department of Transport costing shows a €1m investment would enable the rollout of a public bike scheme for Dún Laoghaire town and environs.

Cllr O’Connell said:

“It’s past time Dun Laoghaire got a public bike scheme if we want to seriously encourage sustainable transport solutions. The Labour Party has called for this now over a number of years and we successfully introduced the Dublin Bikes scheme in Dublin City and rolled it out in Limerick, Cork and Galway. It’s now time Dun Laoghaire got a service.

“At the end of September Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council provided a permanent license to Bleeper Bikes to operate in our town, but just a few weeks later that has collapsed.

“We know there is a real demand for this service because there was a two-year pilot that showed high usage in Stillorgan, UCD and Blackrock.

“Dun Laoghaire would really benefit from such a scheme, and the town needs investment if it is to thrive. A public bike scheme would bring more people into the town centre and boosting footfall will boost our town.

“Despite much scepticism about the DublinBike scheme we’ve seen the huge success of it over the years, with the number of users rising all the time.

“In our alternative Budget proposals, the Labour Party called for a major investment and expansion of the public bikes schemes. Most of the set-up costs are in the building of stations to hold the bikes, and then operating costs can be partially met from sponsorship.

“A costing from the Department of Transport and National Transport Authority shows an initial €1 million investment would allow for the rollout of a public bike scheme in the town and surrounding environs.

“As a local business owner, I know first-hand how important it is to invest in our public spaces and encourage people to get out and about on our streets.”