South Dublin County Council explores new bike share scheme after ‘discontinued’ attempt
South Dublin County Council is examining plans for a county-wide public bike share scheme, as councillors renew calls for improved active travel links across fast-growing suburban areas.
At a recent area committee meeting, Independent councillor Liona O’Toole urged the council to explore a feasibility study for a bike rental system connecting key local destinations, including Lucan Village, Adamstown, the Grand Canal Greenway, nearby parks and rail stations.
She said such a scheme could act as a vital “first and last mile” transport solution, supporting short local trips while creating sustainable transport options.
“The idea is that someone can pick a bicycle up in one part of Lucan and return it to another location like Adamstown train station,” she said.
“It would improve local connectivity and active travel options.”
She added that Lucan and the wider west of the county had “grown enormously” in recent years.
“While many people are still travelling towards the city centre, I think this type of scheme could work extremely well for shorter local journeys,” she said.
“Instead of driving to a local station and trying to find car parking spaces, imagine being able to pick up a bike locally and cycle directly to the train station.”
“Young people could use it to access schools, residents could use it for local trips, and businesses could benefit for shorter journeys and recreational travel.”
In a report to councillors, senior manager Andrew O’Mullane said earlier attempts to introduce similar schemes had not been “successful” due to low population density and limited trip demand outside the city centre.
“The provision of a bike share scheme has previously been considered by the council. A number of attempts to establish such schemes have not been successful, and these initiatives were subsequently discontinued,” he said.
“Earlier schemes were impacted by relatively low population densities in suburban areas and a limited concentration of trip destinations outside the city centre.”
“These conditions resulted in reduced demand and made it more challenging to achieve the critical mass required for a viable and sustainable bike share operation at that time.”
Mr O’Mullane added that a key issue was the “tidal flow” of commuter demand into the city centre in the morning, which limited the recirculation of bicycles in suburban areas.
The existing public bike scheme, Dublinbikes, currently operates within the city centre and does not extend beyond the canal cordon.
Independent councillor Madeleine Johansson said Dublinbikes had proven “very handy” for residents who do not want to immediately invest in purchasing a bicycle.
“It’s a good way for people to try cycling before deciding to buy a bike themselves,” she said.
Cllr Johansson added that any future bike share scheme for South Dublin would depend on location planning.
“Choosing the locations is really important in terms of putting them where it makes sense for people to use them, like the swimming pool or Lucan Village,” she said.
In response, Mr O’Mullane said South Dublin County Council had begun engagement with the National Transport Authority to explore options for a new bike share scheme across the county.
“We do absolutely agree that it would be very helpful to implement a bike share scheme to help activate the active travel infrastructure that has been delivered throughout the county,” he said.
“There was a previous scheme back in 2009 that was unsuccessful, but there has been significant population growth since then and it is a good time to reexamine it.
“In terms of a Lucan specific scheme, we need to assess feasibility on a county-wide basis in the first instance, before examining Lucan in more detail,” he added.