Council fears 'misinformation' on social media will damage Limerick Greenway's potential

Picture: Limerick Greenway Facebook

Limerick City and County Council has expressed “serious concerns” about the level of misinformation on social media surrounding its measures to attract new bike hire and a shuttle bus service on the Limerick Greenway.

The €8m redevelopment of the Limerick Greenway, which follows the old Limerick-Tralee railway line from Rathkeale to Abbeyfeale and on to the Kerry border, is on track for completion by July 1.

A significant amount of work has been completed to date including the entire length of the Limerick Greenway being fully reconstructed and re-surfaced with 3-metre wide macadam surface. The Barnagh Tunnel has been restored and conservation work is taking place on the old station houses in Ardagh and Barnagh.

New seating and other amenities along the route are also planned, while a significant national advertising campaign will get underway in July to attract visitors.

The €8m redevelopment of the Limerick Greenway is on track for completion by July 1.

In order to meet the anticipated demand for visitors and fully capitalise on the investment, the council said it has been exploring measures to attract new bike hire and a shuttle bus service.

“From research and discussions with other Greenways, it was evident that a large number of patrons and, in particular, families, only wish to cycle all or part of a greenway ‘one-way’ and then return to their start point by Shuttle bus,” a spokesperson for the Council said.

“This requires at least one operator of scale to have bike hire and shuttle bus pick-up points at multiple locations along the route."

This will ensure tourists or day-trippers without bikes can fully experience the greenway and businesses along the route, and the county can fully harness “the economic benefits arising from the investment to date," they added.

The Council initiated an Expression of Interest (EOI) process for interested parties which afforded applicants the opportunity to request a €300,000 working capital loan to assist in the set up and provision of this service. 

It is understood concerns were raised following the decision to appoint Dublin-based EI Travel Group/ Lazy Bike Tours, which operates other tourism brands/products such as Irish Day Tours, City Sightseeing Dublin and the Irish Whiskey Museum, with some questioning why a local operator wasn't chosen and given the opportunity to 'scale-up.'

Concerns were raised following the annoucement

Following the announcement, there has been a large amount of comment, mainly on social media, and “most of it incorrect,” the council claimed.

Some of the misinformation the Council wished to address included;

• EI Travel/ Lazy Bike Tours has been awarded a licence to operate a bike hire and shuttle bus service from three Greenway carparks at Rathkeale, Newcastle West and Abbeyfeale. These carparks remain open to all members of the public using the greenway regardless of who they are hiring a bike from or whether they have their own bike.
• EI Travel/ Lazy Bike Tours does not have exclusive rights to bike hire and shuttlebus service on the Limerick Greenway. No company has now or will in the future have exclusive rights to provide a bike hire/ shuttle bus service.
• The conclusion of this process does not mean other operators, either incumbent or potential, cannot continue/ enter to offer their service on the Limerick Greenway.
• All existing and new bike hire operators can be advertised on Council-owned websites LimerickGreenway.ie and Limerick.ie free of charge and are encouraged to do so.
• All operators will benefit from the wider marketing and promotion of the Limerick Greenway which will not promote any individual bike hire business.
• The owner of successful applicant EI Travel Group/ Lazy Bike Tours is not related to Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan despite incorrect commentary to this effect on social media.
• The €300,000 working capital loan approved in principle by the Council is not a grant. It is a loan and is fully repayable to Limerick City and County Council with appropriate security provided by the applicant. 

“It is extremely important that Limerick City and County Council addresses the misinformation and not let these ill-informed comments ruin the huge potential that the Limerick Greenway has to transform tourism in Limerick," the Council said in a statement. 

The Council added that everybody who has a social media account “has a responsibility and platform to promote Limerick and the local authority believes they should do so in a fair and responsible manner.”