Limerick Bike Scheme

schemingbohemia

The Paris scheme shuts down around the same time too from my memory of it.

zulutango

what_traffic wrote: »

Thanks for the correction - could not remember was it 00h00 OR 00h30. Could not find the time on the website. It used to be on it.
I agree that is should not shut down; majority of schemes in Europe are 24/7 dont see why Ireland should be different. Guess the drinking culture here was the official reason given?

I don't remember any reason being given. I guess they have to have staff at the other end of that 0818 number in case somebody forgets the combination code for their lock, or has some other issue. Maybe that's the reason?

panda100

Some of you may be interested in the latest stats for the Limerick Bike Scheme that were released today. Info here: http://limerickunderground.org/2016/04/08/latest-limerick-bike-scheme-stats/

cgcsb

what_traffic wrote: »

I agree that is should not shut down; majority of schemes in Europe are 24/7 dont see why Ireland should be different. Guess the drinking culture here was the official reason given?

Plenty of drinking going on across Europe, we are not unique in that regard.

zulutango

panda100 wrote: »

Some of you may be interested in the latest stats for the Limerick Bike Scheme that were released today. Info here: http://limerickunderground.org/2016/04/08/latest-limerick-bike-scheme-stats/

They tell the story of the sad demise of the Nicholas Street station

panda100

zulutango wrote: »

They tell the story of the sad demise of the Nicholas Street station

How long was that station actually opened for?

zulutango

Not very long. It beggars belief that the vandalism was so bad that they had to close it. The stations on Clancy and O'Callaghan Strands have been targetted consistently too.

Red King

What is going on with the O'Connell Ave station?

panda100

Red King wrote: »

What is going on with the O'Connell Ave station?

It hasn't been opened as long as the other stations. Regardless of that though it's usage is very low. I think it's just a poorly located stations as the Mount Saint Alphonsus station is very close by.

what_traffic

cgcsb wrote: »

Plenty of drinking going on across Europe, we are not unique in that regard.

True - why then Bike Scheme's in Ireland not open 24/7 ?

Poxyshamrock

zulutango wrote: »

Not very long. It beggars belief that the vandalism was so bad that they had to close it. The stations on Clancy and O'Callaghan Strands have been targetted consistently too.

I didn't realise the station has been vandalised. Was it badly damaged?

liquoriceall

Does anyone know will they bring it to Dooradoyle? I would definately use it if they did, but have never used it in town

Tim76

liquoriceall wrote: »

Does anyone know will they bring it to Dooradoyle? I would definately use it if they did, but have never used it in town

I think the scheme should definitely be extended to the suburbs. Limerick is a small city so I think the argument about distances is inapplicable.

zulutango

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

I didn't realise the station has been vandalised. Was it badly damaged?

I don't know actually. But this is what the guy who drives the truck told me. He also said the bikes at the Milk Market were being vandalised too.

On O'Callaghan and Clancy Strands the touch screens were smashed. I saw this myself. They were repaired quickly though.

Red King

TBH I am not one bit surprised at the vandalism. There are scrotes crawling this city that just get a kick out of vandalising anything they can get their paws on, just ask any business owner in the city. Only for the credit card security deposit thing half the bikes would be at the bottom of the Shannon by now.

This culture of destruction that is so rife in a certain mindset is a blight in this country. It ruins the potential for so may great little things that we could do to decorate and brighten our towns and cities and make them more enjoyable places to live.

Take this street in Alicante in Spain for example - it is full of things for kids, games and puzzles and street furniture.







Wouldn't it be great if we could transform one of the boring city streets to a fun place like this with slides and swings and fun street furniture?

The reality is however, that it would probably be wrecked in no time. Hate to say it but it is true.

schemingbohemia

No real issues with vandalism in Dublin, Cork or Galway that I've heard.

Usually the stations are picked to have a certain level of passive surveillance built in, ie well lit and generally in busy enough areas so that there are pedestrians around a good bit of the time.

Jofspring

You can add in the council being sued left right and centre also Red King. You can't have anything in Ireland with out someone trying to make a claim for a fall or injury.

gaf1983

I had a look at the usage statistics for the Limerick Bike Scheme, and this is what I wrote:

https://www.facebook.com/notes/james-gaffney-green-party-limerick-city/evaluating-the-limerick-bike-scheme/1197754633575524

As you can see, compared to Dublin and Cork, a much smaller proportion of Limerick people subscribe to the bikes. Also, those who do subscribe, made far fewer journeys than users in Dublin and Cork.

I think one way to get increased usage in Limerick would be to locate the stations in the suburbs, thereby allowing people to use the bikes as part of their regular commute.

panda100

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

I didn't realise the station has been vandalised. Was it badly damaged?

In all fairness we don't know for definite if this is why the station was closed. It was only the opinion of one of the guys driving the truck. If vandalism is the reason, then imo that really is no justification for closing the station.

We can see from those stats released on Friday that the Nicholas St station was once quite a popular station. Do people on here really think vandalism doesn't exist in Dublin, Cork and every other city where public bike schemes operate? I lived across the road from a bike station in north inner city Dublin and there were kids messing around with the bikes most nights, yet the Dublin scheme continues to increase in popularity. By closing stations in Limerick, the operators are only going to discourage people from subscribing and ultimately decrease revenue.

Red King wrote: »

Only for the credit card security deposit thing half the bikes would be at the bottom of the Shannon by now.

You can actually sign up using a debit card in Limerick, Cork and Galway as well. In Dublin you can only sign up using a credit card which think is quite restrictive and hinders the public, inclusive and accessible principles of the scheme.

ED E

gaf1983 wrote: »

I think one way to get increased usage in Limerick would be to locate the stations in the suburbs, thereby allowing people to use the bikes as part of their regular commute.

Doesn't work that way.The system only works when you've a high density and short commutes. Its designed so that the bikes bounce around. If you place stands in the suburbs the first cohort empty them at 7AM and they dont return until 5PM and its impractical to balance. Balancing is still an issue in Dublin since the expansion (I suspect more bikes but no more vans were added).

In Dublin people can (and do) hop off the luas and onto a DB. My luas trip is 12-14 mins but the walk to work is about 18 mins. I can do the same on a DB in 6 minutes. But if I have to get the bus into town then Ill get one that takes me to within 2 minutes of the office and never use the bikes. This may be where limerick falls down.

zulutango

ED E wrote: »

Doesn't work that way.The system only works when you've a high density and short commutes. Its designed so that the bikes bounce around. If you place stands in the suburbs the first cohort empty them at 7AM and they dont return until 5PM and its impractical to balance. Balancing is still an issue in Dublin since the expansion (I suspect more bikes but no more vans were added).

In Dublin people can (and do) hop off the luas and onto a DB. My luas trip is 12-14 mins but the walk to work is about 18 mins. I can do the same on a DB in 6 minutes. But if I have to get the bus into town then Ill get one that takes me to within 2 minutes of the office and never use the bikes. This may be where limerick falls down.

The obvious way forward is to create a Castletroy network of stations. A single station at UL won't work for the reasons mentioned above, but if you have 8 or 10 stations around Castletroy then you'll get good redistribution of the bikes, and also, for those who want it, you would be able to cycle to and from the city. It would take a fair bit of investment but it would certainly work well.

ED E

zulutango wrote: »

The obvious way forward is to create a Castletroy network of stations. A single station at UL won't work for the reasons mentioned above, but if you have 8 or 10 stations around Castletroy then you'll get good redistribution of the bikes, and also, for those who want it, you would be able to cycle to and from the city. It would take a fair bit of investment but it would certainly work well.

Thats the problem. €€€€. Dublin bikes was meant to be expanded again but there's no funding for it.

Tim76

A station at the junction of South Circular Road & Ballinacurra Road (before the N18 fly-over) would definitely enhance the scheme IMHO.

It is only a 4 minute cycle from the Scoil Carmel station and the station wouldn't suffer from redistribution problems as you would have people traveling from the town to the Crescent/Dooradoyle and vice versa.

Poxyshamrock

Yeah, i think one would work there Tim76. There is also a station at Mary I for those using the south circular road.

what_traffic

ED E wrote: »

Thats the problem. €€€€. Dublin bikes was meant to be expanded again but there's no funding for it.

It should not be a problem. Its peanuts really in terms of overall spending on transport in this Country.
See the following article on IrishCycle about the Dublin Bikes Money for expansion.
http://irishcycle.com/2016/03/18/cycling-secures-large-chunk-of-e23-2m-funding-for-125-projects/

Poxyshamrock

http://www.eveningecho.ie/cork-news/2028248/2028248/ One of the bikes in Cork ended up in the Lee. :eek:

Vanquished

Future Limerick bikes station at Colbert station.

Poxyshamrock

Vanquished wrote: »

Future Limerick bikes station at Colbert station.

Well spotted, Vanquished!

zulutango

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

http://www.eveningecho.ie/cork-news/2028248/2028248/ One of the bike's in Cork ended up in the Lee. :eek:

"They said that this was the first time a bike had ended up in the River Lee, and that, overall, there had been very little vandalism and they are happy with the scheme in Cork."

I wonder what they'd say about the Limerick scheme. Anecdotally at least, there seems to be a fair bit of vandalism in Limerick. Although, that said, my own feeling is that it's happening less than before.

panda100

I can't say I've seen any vandalism on the bike scheme in limerick. I think people tend to over sensationalise the potential vandalism of the bikes when really it doesn't appear to be an issue at all