Three million journeys in last nine months
Key role in +100% increase in cycling in capital in the last decade
Coca-Cola Zero dublinbikes marked a milestone today (Thursday) with the announcement that over 10 million journeys have now been taken on the public hire bike scheme.
The scheme, which is provided by JCDecaux on behalf of Dublin City Council, launched as dublinbikes in September 2009 and reached the one million journey mark by August of the following year. Growing demand and public interest in the service led to a significant expansion which was completed in 2014 and made possible through capital funding from the National Transport Authority (NTA) and commercial sponsorship from Coca-Cola Ireland.
Today, the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Paschal Donohoe TD, met Mairéad Roche, who took the 10 millionth Coca-Cola Zero dublinbikes journey, at Inchicore station near Kilmainham Gaol. He said: ‘The attraction of the Coca-Cola Zero dublinbikes scheme is evident in the diversity of people that can be seen using them; from students to business people, the bikes offer a convenient and cost effective way of getting around. Dublin is perfectly suited to cycling as a means of transportation and I was delighted last week to see that the NTA’s Canal Cordon report outlined that cycling has continued its steady trend of increasing usage, with the number of cycling trips exceeding 10,000 per day for the first time. This is more than double that of 2006. The success of the Coca-Cola Zero dublinbikes scheme has led to further roll-out in other urban centres, such as Cork, Limerick and Galway which, I have no doubt will see a similar take-up level in the years ahead’.
Minister Donohoe was joined by Owen Keegan, Dublin City Council Chief Executive; Michael Aherne, Head of the National Transport Authority’s Transport Development Division; Jennifer Heaphy, Head of Public Affairs and Communications, Coca-Cola Ireland; and Joanne Grant, Managing Director JCDecaux Ireland.
Owen Keegan said: ‘Passing 10 million journeys in little over five years is an amazing achievement and shows what an excellent decision it was to provide the service originally and to then expand it. I would like to congratulate everybody involved, especially the scheme’s members who have done so much to make it the success story it has become’.
Jennifer Heaphy, Head of Public Affairs and Communications for Coca-Cola Ireland presented Mairéad Roche with a gift of a cycling holiday to France to mark the milestone and said: ‘We are proud to have supported the expansion of the scheme. Since we started supporting the scheme last June, three million journeys have been taken on the bikes and we are delighted to be playing a part in its continued success’.
“Our partnership with dublinbikes builds on our commitment to encourage active healthy lifestyles and through our investments in the regional bike schemes in Galway, Limerick and Cork, and more recently in Belfast, we are working to help create a culture of cycling across the island of Ireland.”
Joanne Grant, Managing Director of JCDecaux Ireland said: ‘Coca-Cola Zero dublinbikes has been a phenomenal success. Reaching 10 million journeys is a fantastic milestone for everyone involved in the scheme and is testament to how Coca-Cola Zero dublinbikes is so well integrated into the fabric of Dublin City. JCDecaux is proud to have played our part in this and we look forward to continued success working with Dublin City Council and Coca-Cola Ireland delivering this world class bike share rental scheme’.
Ends
Notes to the editor
The expansion of Dublin’s public hire bike service was facilitated by capital funding from the National Transport Authority (NTA) and commercial sponsorship from Coca-Cola Ireland. Members have taken over three million journeys since work on the expansion finished. The service’s 53,000 members now have access to 1,500 bikes operating from 101 stations in return for an annual subscription of €20.
Owen Keegan also remarked that : ‘Coca-Cola Zero dublinbikes has played a significant role in the growth of cycling in the capital as it has provided an accessible option for many people who wanted to cycle but did not have access to a bike in the city’.
Figures from the 2014 Canal Cordon Count, which was jointly published by the NTA and Dublin City Council last week, show that the number of people commuting to the city by bike increased by approximately 114% between 2006 and 2014. There was an increase of around 14% last year alone.
The study also showed that the vast majority of commuters are now using a ‘sustainable’ option to come into Dublin city with almost 64% of commuters using public transport, cycling or walking to work.The number of cycle trips crossing the Cordon in the morning peak exceeded 10,000 for the first time and is more than double that of 2006.
This trend has been facilitated by the opening of Dublin Port Tunnel in 2007, improvements in public transport provision and the expansion of cycling facilities such as the Grand Canal Cycle Way. Dublin City Council recently finished a public consultation on a new off-road cycle way along the Liffey Quays. These facilities, in the council’s opinion, give commuters greater choice in deciding how they want to travel around Dublin.
To view the 2014 Canal Cordon count: https://www.nationaltransport.ie/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Report_Canal_Cordon_Trends_2006-2014.pdf
Coca-Cola Zero dublinbikes statistics
53,484 Long Term Subscribers
981,746 Journeys (YTD)
10,000,000 Journeys (since launch)
Busiest Usage Day Ever was 2nd October 2014 with 15,441 journeys taken
Number of Coca-Cola Zero dublinbikes journeys taken after:
One year 1,101,877
Two years 2,529,693
Three years 4,032,750
Four years 5,290,073
Five years 7,951,866