Feasibility reports have been published; a public consultation period was declared; symposiums were held but plans to shift Galway into gear with a public bike share scheme are painfully slow.
It is now imperative that this essential scheme gets freewheeling again.
A feasibility report was published last year which recommended that Galway was well suited to a Bike Share scheme. At a symposium held by the National Transport Authority last November in NUI, Galway officials said if the funding gap could be bridged, it would take 18 months to two years to complete the project.
And now seven months later and with Bike Week upon us, we have reached an impasse, with no sponsor/s found.
Jim Mulloy, Senior Executive Engineer in Galway City Council’s Transport department admitted progress was slow.
“It’s not an impasse as such, but the time scale is slow,” he said. He revealed that efforts were now being put into securing €5,000 per year per company in sponsorship from 10 local companies and stakeholders.
“We are using the big employers in Galway to take a share, so no one company will take a big hit,” he said.
The feasibility report, compiled by the National Transport Authority and Jacobs Engineering recommended that 23 docking stations holding 250 bikes be distributed around the city. The scheme would particularly suit those taking short journeys in the city centre area.
The initial set up cost for Galway is estimated to be €1.55 million, with running costs estimated to be €255,000 per year.
A spokeswoman in the Department of Transport put it: “The scheme hasn’t been put on the long finger. As yet a potential sponsor hasn’t been identified. Initial discussions have been held with a number of companies to identify potential sponsors.”
Galway is an ideal city for a self-service bike rental scheme for a number of reasons. We have severe traffic problems; the cost of parking is high and it can sometimes be time consuming trying to find a car parking space. We have a bus service which is frequently unreliable and timetables are not posted at all bus stops.
The city is not too hilly and we have a high volume of tourists flocking to the city.
The university is close to the city centre. Linking thousands of NUI, Galway staff and students with the city centre via a bike scheme would be a guaranteed success.
It is a recession friendly scheme that is easy on the pocket. The bike share scheme in Dublin charges members just €10 a year to subscribe, with the first half hour of your journey free.
Dublinbikes has been a huge hit with Dubliners and it has only been operating since September 2009. By the end of April 3.5 million journeys were taken. It is one of the most successful bike rental schemes in the world.
Dublinbikes is sponsored by outdoor advertising agency JCDecaux, which received a number of advertising sites across the city in return for sponsoring the scheme.
The proposed schemes for Galway, Limerick, Cork and Waterford are a public/private models.
According to the Jacobs report it is unlikely that the regional schemes could be entirely funded by advertising.
The scheme could give so much back to the city that it warrants full public funding.
Consider for a moment how much money is spent annually on providing a bus service for 9% of Galway commuters who take the bus. How much is spent on cyclists who make up 4% of the city’s commuters? Very little. (I have taken these percentages from the 2006 census.)
If the money is going to be invested in a public bike share scheme, it needs to be spent right. The Galway Cycling Campaign is adamant that the scheme should be linked in with all other schemes across Ireland.
“The regional schemes must be either integrated with, or compatible with the Dublin scheme. It has to operate a national membership. A Dublin bike user should be able to get off the train and use a Galway bike and vice versa,” said Oisin Ó’Nidh, Galway Cycling Campaign Chairman.
He also pointed out that access improvements for cyclists in the city centre should be implemented, such as two-way cycling on one-way streets and allowing access to pedestrianised areas.
Maintenance of the bikes, docking stations and online subscription services must be maintained to a high standard if the scheme is to be a success. The location of the docking stations must be chosen carefully and placed in suitable spots around the city. What is particularly important for a rainy city like ours is that all bikes be equipped with mudguards and chainguards. Designers also need to think of docking stations that will blend in with the surroundings well. A distinctive and recognisable logo and colour scheme (maroon for Galway maybe?) for the bicycles is important.
Local politicians need to shout louder about this. NUI, Galway and the HSE should give this their full backing. Galway Transportation Unit need to make this their flagship project and put their energies into presenting a highly persuasive case for sponsorship forward to Galway’s multinational companies. This is vital if they want this project to go to tender in August, as Mr Mulloy has indicated. He hopes the work will start in early 2013.
Fáilte Ireland also need to realise the tourism potential of it.
Cian Gallagher, founder of galwaybikes.ie makes the point: “1.2 million tourists come to Galway annually. Fáilte Ireland should be stepping up to the mark and be more involved than they are in this.”
Not having a bike scheme in place for an event such as the upcoming Volvo is an opportunity missed.
The Jacobs report, referring to international research, cite the “shot in the arm” effect of the introduction of a bike share scheme to any city. It’s an all round feel-good win-win situation resulting in an overnight increase in the visible presence of cyclists on city streets. It gives commuters the option of cycling without the headache of maintaining a bike or worrying about it being stolen.
If the government want to spend any money on cycling, this is the scheme to invest in. It will be a major success, and once established Galway will never look back.
