Dublin Bikes [many] months on.

Run_to_da_hills

rocstar wrote: »

AMontague wrote: »

We are looking at ways of expanding the system. Funding is going to be a problem but we are looking at several different options - any suggestions would be welcome!


Would be great to see them further out in places like Sandymount, Phoenix park, St. Annes park, Dollymount beach

I have seen a few south as far as the Merrion Gates and Dunlaoghaire. I still think there still is an overcrowding at drop off points.

Last Sunday I was hoping to get from Dame St/Dublin Castle to Pearse St, ended up having to drop off the bike near Stephens Green / Cuffe St as all bays were full.

delta_bravo

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

rocstar wrote: »

I have seen a few south as far as the Merrion Gates and Dunlaoghaire. I still think there still is an overcrowding at drop off points.

Last Sunday I was hoping to get from Dame St/Dublin Castle to Pearse St, ended up having to drop off the bike near Stephens Green / Cuffe St as all bays were full.

You probably wouldve been better to drop it off at Townsend st in that case. Yeah it can be annoying when some bays are full if you are making short trips and it would nearly have been quicker to walk when you end up having to go out of your way to drop off the bike.

Run_to_da_hills

delta_bravo wrote: »

Run_to_da_hills wrote: »

You probably wouldve been better to drop it off at Townsend st in that case. Yeah it can be annoying when some bays are full if you are making short trips and it would nearly have been quicker to walk when you end up having to go out of your way to drop off the bike.

Tell me about it, I ended up getting the No 4 at Nassau St to Blackrock and the Dart after that.

Poster King

Advert sites to fund bike scheme approved
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0727/1224275546087.html

"However the extra bikes and stations would cost an estimated €6.6 million, which it could not fund from its own resources."

I find this figure hard to believe.
100 new bikes, 4 new stations and just under 300 new stands. I assume the the new stations will have 20 stands at each minimum, which means that 220 new stands will be spread over the existing 45 stations.
The bikes can't cost more than €500 each = €50,000
That leaves about €20,000 for each new stand?

Cookie_Monster

This time the council is using a provision of the planning acts known as “Part 8” which allows councillors to directly approve certain local authority works, bypassing the normal planning process.

Political corruption at its finest
:mad:

markpb

Poster King wrote: »

That leaves about €20,000 for each new stand?

I'm not defending it but construction work in a public area cost a lot of money. There is a story in the press this week about a bus stand upgrade costing €200,000. The story in the Independent said:

Ordinarily, a more typical cost for such a bus stop upgrade would be €100,000. "Conventional bus-stop upgrades (without wheelchair-parking accommodation) typically range from €20,000 to €25,000 (including VAT)." The remaining €100,000 was spent on re-laying electricity cables, uprooting seven trees and planting replacement trees in a new location, and moving an existing bus stop to make room for dedicated car-parking spaces for wheelchair users. In addition, a new low wall had to be built to hold in earth that was disturbed behind the shelter.

-Chris-

Does that Part 8 thing mean that they can put the signs where ever they like?

Cookie_Monster

-Chris- wrote: »

Does that Part 8 thing mean that they can put the signs where ever they like?

essentially, yes. I am sure there are still consideration taken into account such as wheelchair space on the path and sightlines but essentially they can just bypass any objections and put stuff where they feel like

Casey_81

Any chance of getting a big bike stand at the IFSC/Connolly station? The talbot street one is always full in the evening and empty in the morning.. and I usually have to pick up/leave the bike on the quays near tara street.

monument

Poster King wrote: »

Advert sites to fund bike scheme approved
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2010/0727/1224275546087.html

"However the extra bikes and stations would cost an estimated €6.6 million, which it could not fund from its own resources."

I find this figure hard to believe.
100 new bikes, 4 new stations and just under 300 new stands. I assume the the new stations will have 20 stands at each minimum, which means that 220 new stands will be spread over the existing 45 stations.
The bikes can't cost more than €500 each = €50,000
That leaves about €20,000 for each new stand?

I don't know about the figure and would love to see a break down of it, but you also take into account of:

• planning costs
• installation costs
• on-going costs, such as:
• fixing bikes
• the possible need to replace the bikes
• moving the bikes around daily
• maintaining the stands and stations
• keeping the the back end of the system running etc (the electronic systems, the payment systems, issuing the cards, answering phones etc)

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

Political corruption at its finest
:mad:

So, you're suggesting that every bus stop and shelter should need full planning permission?

markpb

monument wrote: »

So, you're suggesting that every bus stop and shelter should need full planning permission?

I think there needs to be a balance between a full bureaucratic process and allowing residents to have no say at all. I've no idea what that balance is though...

Cookie_Monster

monument wrote: »

So, you're suggesting that every bus stop and shelter should need full planning permission?

In this case yes. The original boards had a rejection rate of 20% due to a variety of reasons including blocking traffic lights, making footpaths to narrow to allow wheelchairs to pass and being on junctions, blocking sightlines. Several people on here lodged objections to these boards, including MadSL (iirc) who launched a detailed campaign highlight the hap hazard and dangerous locations of these advertisements.

Councillors who have no planning experience or understanding of what is affected should not be making these decisions, ever. IF such plans were signed off and endorsed by qualified engineers who are capable of properly assessing a location and the hazards then that would be sufficient, but locals and residents should still be allowed lodge objections to any such structures and if objections are found to be valid the correct action taken, redesign, rebuilding or demolition, or not constructed at all.

DBCyc

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

In this case yes. The original boards had a rejection rate of 20% due to a variety of reasons including blocking traffic lights, making footpaths to narrow to allow wheelchairs to pass and being on junctions, blocking sightlines. Several people on here lodged objections to these boards, including MadSL (iirc) who launched a detailed campaign highlight the hap hazard and dangerous locations of these advertisements.

Councillors who have no planning experience or understanding of what is affected should not be making these decisions, ever. IF such plans were signed off and endorsed by qualified engineers who are capable of properly assessing a location and the hazards then that would be sufficient, but locals and residents should still be allowed lodge objections to any such structures and if objections are found to be valid the correct action taken, redesign, rebuilding or demolition, or not constructed at all.

The Part 8 process is a planning application lodged by the county council executive themselves. It is typically compiled and lodged by qualified engineers/planners and it must be put on public display to enable the public to make submissions or objections. The substantive issues arising from this process should be presented to the council members via the county manager.

The Part 8 application would then be voted on by the council members (i.e. elected local councillors) at an official council meeting. Of course this doesn't stop councillors ignoring professional advice and legitimate objections to vote/reject a plan for purely political reasons

Capt'n Midnight

DBCyc wrote: »

The Part 8 application would then be voted on by the council members (i.e. elected local councillors) at an official council meeting. Of course this doesn't stop councillors ignoring professional advice and legitimate objections to vote/reject a plan for purely political reasons

Going a little off topic here but anyone remember section 4's ?

Used to account for up to half of all council business back in the bad old days, was only supposed to be used in exceptional circumstances.

What is the point in having an taisce if they can be bypassed at will ?

was there a reason given as to why they didn't go through the normal planning process ?

Capt'n Midnight

Casey_81 wrote: »

Any chance of getting a big bike stand at the IFSC/Connolly station? The talbot street one is always full in the evening and empty in the morning.. and I usually have to pick up/leave the bike on the quays near tara street.

If the bikes were left at major commuter destinations the traffic would be tidal.

The bikes are meant to be used all day , not just mornings and evenings

positron

Similar system coming up in London.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-10810869

I have to say I like the design of their version of these bikes.

* Luggage rack with ties looks more compact and better looking than the wire basket we have.
* Members get a key they can use to unlock the bike from the dock directly, rather than going to the main console all the time.
* And most importantly, at £1 for a day and £5 for a week, it's many times cheaper than our system!

The keys cost £3 and the cost of using the cycles varies from £1 for an hour to £50 for 24 hours. TfL and operator Serco expect to roll out the scheme to casual users after a month.

-Chris-

positron wrote: »

* And most importantly, at £1 for a day and £5 for a week, it's many times cheaper than our system!

It's many times more expensive.

I paid €10 for a year.

positron

-Chris- wrote: »

It's many times more expensive.

I paid €10 for a year.

I heard wrong in the video clip, fixed my post now.

However, I think they do have the 'first 30 mins free' for members there as well. So it's £3 for a year then?

loyatemu

http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/14811.aspx

Subscription: £45 for a year, £7 for a week
Hire: first 30 mins free (as in Dublin) but 2 hours will cost you £6, compared to €1.50 here.

its much more expensive than the dbs, the "luggage rack" is a lot less useful than a basket and there is no lock (I know hardly anyone uses the lock here, but I used it on occasion and its handy to have).

monument

Back on the issue of Dublin Bikes and the adverts:

Some councllers want the bikes but not the ads -- http://dublinobserver.com/2010/07/bike-scheme-advertising-questioned/

markpb

monument wrote: »

Some councllers want the bikes but not the ads -- http://dublinobserver.com/2010/07/bike-scheme-advertising-questioned/

The same councillors weren't willing to pay for the bikes out of general funds. The ads aren't great but it's an acceptable compromise IMHO. If they had waited for magic money to come along to spend on the bikes, they'd never had gotten here.

Capt'n Midnight

Vienna bikes cost €1 to sign up, you use your credit card as the token at the stands. But if a bike goes missing then you get hit for €600 instead of the €150 here.

Berlin have the opposite approach to locks, you just leave the bike locked instead of using stands.

how are you supposed to carry stuff on those london bikes ?
here you can throw loose stuff in the basket

daveyboy_1ie

Just as a matter of interest, I got my subscription card in the first week of the scheme. Just wondering what the process is to re-subscribe? Is it simply just apply again on the site?

Capt'n Midnight

markpb wrote: »

If they had waited for magic money to come along to spend on the bikes, they'd never had gotten here.

How many meters of Metro, Motorway or LUAS would the Dublin bikes scheme pay for ?

The original cost of Dublin bikes was €25 over 15 years
The €6.6m expansion would have paid for just 110m of the Docklands extension to the LUAS :eek:

In the grand scheme of things Dublinbikes costs peanuts and if you take into account capital costs then the cost per journey far undercuts other transport systems that we have.

markpb

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

How many meters of Metro, Motorway or LUAS would the Dublin bikes scheme pay for ?

The original cost of Dublin bikes was €25 over 15 years
The €6.6m expansion would have paid for just 110m of the Docklands extension to the LUAS :eek:

In the grand scheme of things Dublinbikes costs peanuts and if you take into account capital costs then the cost per journey far undercuts other transport systems that we have.

No argument from me, I'm a huge fan of DB but I'm not a DCC councillor so my opinion doesn't count Also, the people who pay for the Luas are not the people who pay would pay for a bike rental system.

dolliemix

positron wrote: »

Similar system coming up in London.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-10810869

I have to say I like the design of their version of these bikes.

* Luggage rack with ties looks more compact and better looking than the wire basket we have.
* Members get a key they can use to unlock the bike from the dock directly, rather than going to the main console all the time.
* And most importantly, at £1 for a day and £5 for a week, it's many times cheaper than our system!

Much prefer the dublin bikes

* what happens if you have two bags on the London bikes? In Dublin we can throw in loads of random stuff into the basket. I'd often have shopping and my handbag on the bike

* I'd lose the key!!!

I much prefer the Dublin system.

I love the db bikes. I find my own bike uncomfortable after using a db bike.


Dave boy....my subscription should be up soon as well. I wonder will they send us a reminder email? And will we need a new card?

BrianD

It's a pity that there aren't that many new sites coming online. It's good that some stations are increasing capacity but most new stations seem to be very close to existing ones (I know there is the 300m interval). It would be great to see stations in the north and south docklands and outside of the canal areas.

dandruff_ie

Yes i use the bikes a lot and some are good and some not so good however I would like some way I could tell the company what was wrong like with a text message

not a 50cent text lol just a normal one

like yesterday the front wheel was very low it was the last one on the stand and i only spotted it a good bit up the road

so if i could have text it in with the bike number and site the roaming guy could have picked it up

just an idea

-Chris-

Apparantly if you turn the saddle backwards it signals to the guys who reallocate the bikes that there's something wrong with the bike that needs repair.

dandruff_ie

-Chris- wrote: »

Apparantly if you turn the saddle backwards it signals to the guys who reallocate the bikes that there's something wrong with the bike that needs repair.

Ok well I did not know that ........

at least that is some thing