North Mayo town set to follow Castlebar and Westport with new E-Bike scheme
An E-Bike service, similar to that of Lime Bike, could be welcomed to Ballina in the near future.
Council engineers have confirmed that the municipal district is actively seeking a provider for the proposed public transport service.
The update followed a motion submitted by Cllr Annie May Reape, who asked whether the introduction of a Lime Bikes service, similar to those operating in Castlebar and Westport, had been considered for Ballina.
She told the meeting that she had been approached by constituents who questioned why no such scheme is currently in place in the town, particularly given its success in other parts of the county.
Responding to the motion, Head Engineer Orla Bourke confirmed that the process of extending the E-Bike scheme to Ballina is underway, with the town included in an open tender seeking a provider for an E-Bike shared mobility scheme.
She added that there have been “many expressions of interest” since the tender went live. The closing date for submissions is Friday, March 27.
Welcoming the update, Cllr Reape said the introduction of a scheme would significantly enhance connectivity throughout the town while also encouraging more active travel.
She pointed to the potential for linking popular areas such as Ballina Station, the town centre, the River Moy corridor, the Quay area and Belleek Woods.
Cllr John O’Hara supported the motion and highlighted the potential traffic benefits, noting that an E-Bike could offer a practical alternative during peak travel times.
“It’s awful handy, if you’re in a traffic jam, you can jump on a bike and take off,” he joked.
Lime Bikes have been in operation in Castlebar since 2022 and expanded to Westport in 2023.
The company says that since their introduction to Castlebar, they have been used for over 30,000 trips, saving over 30,000 tons of CO2 from the atmosphere - the equivalent to 8,000 car journeys.
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme