Bike stations not ready for launch
The scheme, similar to the bike-sharing in operation in Dublin for the past five years, will follow the launch of schemes in Galway last month and Limerick yesterday.
A spokesperson for the NTA said Cork’s scheme, due to launch on December 18, will be launched in two phases as the works to install some of the city’s 31 bike stations have been stalled by a moratorium on road works in the city in the build-up to Christmas.
Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan, deputy Mayor of Limerick Maria Byrne, and former Munster and Ireland rugby player David Wallace launched the Limerick bike scheme at the Savoy Hotel on Henry St yesterday.
While the scheme will eventually have 23 bike-hiring locations in position across Limerick, seven of the planned stations were not operational yesterday.
The NTA said the majority of Limerick’s remaining stations will be ready in the coming weeks, but two locations will not be operational until next month. One of the remaining stations, at Bedford Row, is the location of the city’s Christmas tree, which delayed the installation until the New Year. All but two of the 18 stations in Galway, launched on November 24, are operational.
Customers who pre-register for the scheme on www.bikeshare.ie before the end of the year will get a 50% discount, receiving a special offer of a €5 annual subscription per city.
Plans for the bike schemes in the three cities were announced in September 2013 by then-public transport minister Alan Kelly, who said the schemes would be operational in July 2014.
Cork will have 330 bikes available from 31 bike stations across the city. The red and black bikes — sponsored by Coca-Cola for €3m over five years — will have built-in gear-shifting technology, enabling automatic gear-changes which the NTA says will contribute towards easier, safer cycling for users.
