Limerick Bike Scheme

panda100

I used to use the bike scheme a lot when I lived near Mary I. Since I moved into town I rarely use it. The one way traffic system and lack of cycle lanes make it a lot quicker and easier to walk. I will probably start using it again once they open the station at the train station. I don't see any reason for the hold up in opening it!

zulutango

Today, when returning my bike the station was full and I had to go to the next nearest one. I use the scheme a lot and this is the first time I've experienced this. Hopefully it's a sign that there is an increased uptake and not a sign that they are not redistributing the bikes as often as before.

zulutango

Anybody know why the station on O'Connell Street (opposite White House pub) has been offline for the last week or two? Maybe it's to do with the digging currently ongoing on the street ...

Poxyshamrock

Has the station at Colbert Station opened yet?

panda100

Poxyshamrock wrote: »

Has the station at Colbert Station opened yet?

No. It's a pain. Think they are waiting for the go ahead from the NTA as they are testing the equipment.

panda100

Used the bikes a good bit this weekend and pretty much every bike I hired had a fault with it. My bike pedal just went flying off in the middle of sarsfield bridge.I stuck it back on but it wouldn't pedal properly . Then yesterday, the gears weren't working on a bike I hired and similar dodgy pedal issue with another bike. I live right beside a bike station and it made me think that I rarely see the bike scheme truck around town anymore. Maybe I was just unlucky with the bikes I hired. Though with the very extended delay with the opening of the train station bike station I can't help but think that no resources are being put into the regional bike schemes by the NTA.

Poxyshamrock

I haven't seen the van in a while as well now that you mention it.

If there's ever a fault, turn the saddle around and it might help bring it to the attention of the van guy and fellow users.

sioda

If your not in a rush pop the bike out the straight back and hire a different one it will ask you to log a fault and lock down the bike

Jofspring

Have seen the van driving around alright. Not seen it stopped at any of the spots but definitely driving around town.

panda100

Jofspring wrote:

Have seen the van driving around alright. Not seen it stopped at any of the spots but definitely driving around town.

Really? Not seen it in yonks and used to see it all the time.
Didn't have time to report the faults. I had to leave the peddle that fell off in the basket when I docked back in.

phog

I see the van around town most days, sometimes early in the joy and other times in the evenings.

zig

panda100 wrote: »

Used the bikes a good bit this weekend and pretty much every bike I hired had a fault with it. My bike pedal just went flying off in the middle of sarsfield bridge.I stuck it back on but it wouldn't pedal properly . Then yesterday, the gears weren't working on a bike I hired and similar dodgy pedal issue with another bike. I live right beside a bike station and it made me think that I rarely see the bike scheme truck around town anymore. Maybe I was just unlucky with the bikes I hired. Though with the very extended delay with the opening of the train station bike station I can't help but think that no resources are being put into the regional bike schemes by the NTA.

Yea Im definitely noticing an increase in faults. Its very annoying and is putting me off to be honest.

zulutango

I do see the lorry around quite a bit. Only yesterday it was coming in the Condell Road. No idea what it was doing out that way as there's no stations anywhere out there. I'm not noticing many more maintenance problems than before. Every now and then I do have to return a bike straight away and get another but it's not too frustrating yet.

The suggestion above about turning the saddle sideways if there's a problem is a good one. Importantly it tells the next user that they shouldn't select this bike and try another instead. Think the idea caught on in Paris first a few years ago and it's standard practice over there now.

panda100

Now that I think about it both of the bikes i used yesterday had their saddles askew when I got on. Im my haste, I usually just keep cycling even if saddle is wonky but perhaps it was the last user alerting me to its faults.

zig

Yea the saddles are often wonky and require tightening. But sometimes the grip/tightening thing seems a bit broken. Once I couldn't tighten the saddle properly and I had it very high. Somehow the entire saddle managed to come off mid-cycle!!

zulutango

It looks like a new station will be going out in LIT. As well as that it is being reported that the station at King John's Castle is to be fixed and the station at the train station is to be opened before the end of the year.

This is very good news. What's even better is that Conn Murray and the head of the NTA (who are behind the scheme) are saying very positive things about it, and are saying it's very successful so here's hoping that that means there's further expansion on the way.

http://www.limerickleader.ie/news/home/271481/limerick-bike-share-scheme-to-be-expanded.html

Strettie11

Actually it is Vincent Murray quoted in the article the senior executive engineer for Limerick Co CO . Was it not his dept who got rid of the cycle lanes originally planned for Davis Street and Parnell street leading from the train station.

dunworth1

once the station is active at LIT there should be a huge uptake in use of the bokes around

Poxyshamrock

dunworth1 wrote: »

once the station is active at LIT there should be a huge uptake in use of the bokes around

Definitely! It should have been done from day 1. The Mary I station is the most popular one of the scheme so I'm sure this helped LIT get one!

Tim76

dunworth1 wrote: »

once the station is active at LIT there should be a huge uptake in use of the bokes around

Hopefully this will be the start of a proper expansion to add some decent coverage to the city. The Crescent and UL should be next. There's already a bike station at one end of the cycleway along the canal, seams crazy that they don't have one at the other!

barrymanilow

Has there been any movement towards expanding this scheme ? Any idea how the scheme is fairing ? Maybe the dockless bike phone app approach has made schemes like this redundant ?

zulutango

They were meant to open a few new stations at the end of 2017. It didn't happen though.

It's hard to know if it's a success or not. What level of usage constitutes success? I see people using them regularly, but having said that, only once in 3 years have I returned to a station and it's been full, so clearly they're not being used as much as they could be.

zig

zulutango wrote: »

It's hard to know if it's a success or not. What level of usage constitutes success? I see people using them regularly, but having said that, only once in 3 years have I returned to a station and it's been full, so clearly they're not being used as much as they could be.

Not sure what you mean by this, surely if theyre never full its because they are being used. Or was it a typo?

Anyway, its hard to know by how the stations are because someones job is to drive around and constantly balance them off. If there is always a space for a bike it might just means theyre doing their job properly.

zulutango

If the station is never full (or never empty) it likely means there's low demand, but it's possible that it means the redistribution of the bikes is very good (by other users and the truck that drives around). I really don't think the latter is the case though, because there's a few other reasons to think there's low demand. There's never a queue at a stand. There's never somebody taking a bike or returning one when I am. I've often returned a bike and got the same bike from the same rack about 24 hours later. You can tell by the lock codes. This means the bike hasn't been used in that 24 hour period. And while we see them around, the city isn't exactly overrun with them.

panda100

barrymanilow wrote: »

Has there been any movement towards expanding this scheme ? Any idea how the scheme is fairing ? Maybe the dockless bike phone app approach has made schemes like this redundant ?

I've moved into a house and my sitting room overlooks one of the stations so I have become fairly obsessed with watching its usage (I clearly need a life!). I've been using it a good bit as it's on a two way street so is very handy for coming to and from town.I think I am the only one using it though I've not seen one sole taking or bringing back a bike and I often use the same bike which is still docked in the same position from when I last used it.

phog

Only the dedicated would be using a bike this weather.

If I wasn't using a vehicle then I'd rather walk in rain, wind or ice than cycle.

Vladimir Poontang

And only a lunatic or someone with a death wish would cycle in this city for fun.

phog

Vladimir Poontang wrote: »

And only a lunatic or someone with a death wish would cycle in this city for fun.

Some of the cyclists I meet must be lunatics or have a death wish. None worse than the guy who cycles down O'Connell St against oncoming traffic some evenings

zulutango

You can be a cyclist in this city and do everything legally and correct and your life is still in great danger because of the way the streets are designed. There's a lot of changes to be made to make this a city that's safe for cyclists.

Vladimir Poontang

Agree. I love cycling but it is becoming less and less enjoyable due to dangerous roads and dangerous motorists. Our cycle paths are not fit for purpose or non-existent. We have a segment of the media who are vehemently anti-cyclist.

Saying that, cyclists are their own worst enemy too.

Cycling three abreast, slowly, on busy roads just riles people up. Breaking red lights constantly, cycling against the traffic sometimes in the middle of the road, flying along footpaths and scaring the crap out of pedestrians.

It is poor form all round and I can't see it improving anytime soon.