Figures plummet for Cork's public bike scheme 

Although other public bike schemes suffered a decrease in use over the pandemic, some have seen numbers growing again as society re-opened. Picture: Larry Cummins

The number of trips taken on the public bike scheme in Cork has plummeted since 2019 and has not recovered since Covid restrictions were eased.

Figures fell from 241,064 trips in 2019 to 81,504 in 2020 and then 54,615 last year. 

In the first three months of this year, the number of trips was 21,562 despite Covid restrictions easing. 

Although other public bike schemes suffered a decrease in use over the pandemic, some have seen numbers growing again as society re-opened.

In Galway, the scheme saw 27,190 trips in 2019. But in 2020, the year the pandemic hit, trips fell to 6,604. But by 2021, this had increased slightly to 7,898. This year, between January and March, some 1,382 trips were recorded on the scheme in Galway.

Limerick has been on a similar trajectory to Cork. In 2019, 22,129 trips were made on the public bike scheme. In 2020, this fell to 10,447 but that figure more than halved again the next year, falling to 4,862 trips in 2021.

Between January and March this year, there were 1,932 trips on Limerick’s scheme.

Conn Donovan, Chairperson of the Cork Cycling Campaign, said that anecdotal reports suggest that poor bike maintenance and a platform that is often offline, may be compounding the problem of low take-up.

“The fact that trip numbers are down should be deeply concerning for operators of the scheme,” he said.

“There needs to be an investigation as to why the Cork, Limerick and Galway schemes are not running as successfully as the Dublin scheme.

“Anecdotally, the Cork Cycling Campaign has heard lots of complaints regarding maintenance of the bikes, the operation of the network and the reliability of the network.” 

Peter Horgan, Labour Party Local Area Representative in Cork, said another problem is the lack of connectivity.

"A lot of work needs to be done to regain the ground of user journeys that were there in 2019 but it should not deter us from seeking new stations in areas like Blackrock and Douglas in Cork. These are key transport corridors with ever-growing commutes that need to be serviced. 

"Including stations on the northside of the city also to link into Kent Station is crucial."