Wait goes on for launch of free rent bikes

By Claire Murphy

Dubliners will have to wait for another month before learning about the exact location of free rental bikes, which will not be made available until the end of the summer.

The scheme was negotiated as part of a deal with JC Decaux, the multinational advertising company and Dublin City Council. The agreement was that the company would provide bicycles free of charge in return for advertising panels, which were in situ last summer.

However, the exact system for the location of the bikes has not yet been finalised. And there has been no exact date confirmed for the release of the bikes yet.
"At the moment it's under the assessment stages and no decision has been made about locations yet," confirmed a spokeswoman for Dublin City Council.

"Areas are being assessed to see if they are suitable. The areas will be announced at the end of January or beginning of February."


It is expected that 450 bikes will be available for hire at city centre locations, free of charge, in return for a returnable deposit, similar to systems operating in other European cities.
A Dun Laoghaire Rathdown councillor has put in a question to the manager of the county council to ask whether the Council has entered into any discussion with JC Decaux in order to provide advertising panels in return for bicycles in the area.
Green councillor Gene Feighery asked the manager "to ensure that the appalling street advertising hoardings recently erected in Dublin City will not be replicated in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown".

The revenue for the outdoor advertising has been estimated to be in the region of €1m annually. JC Decaux will supply four rental bikes for each on-street panel, and has permission to display the panels for 15 years.

It was revealed that a similar scheme operated in Paris saw the local authority receiving annual rent of more than €2,000 per unit and 12 bicycles were supplied in return for each panel by the company involved.

Various groups have criticised the advertising panels, including the National Council for the Blind of Ireland, which said that the panels were a danger to the visually impaired.