New 'effortless' bike scheme piloted in Limerick to promote cycling across the city

READY, set, bike! A mix of 150 pedal and electric bikes are on their way to Castletroy as part of the Dockless Bicycle Share Scheme in Limerick. 

The scheme will initially operate in the Castletroy area from April 12, and the community will have access to these bicycles for leisure or commuter purposes.

It is hoped that the scheme will "improve accessibility to cycling for different demographics and abilities," and will help "eliminate unnecessary car journeys" in the area.

Peadar Golden, of TIER Mobility Ireland Ltd, described the process of using one of these bikes. "What you need to do is download the Nextbike by TIER app, scan the QR code on your vehicle, then off you go," he exclaimed.

To use the vehices, after scanning the code, the next step is to "either remove the lock from the rear wheel and place it in the holder for e-bikes, or wait for the lock to automatically release on pedal bikes." 

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On arrival, the user can "park" the bike using the app, and reinsert the lock or else push the lock lever down. It is important to note that the trip is still running while you have parked the bike, unless returned to the nearest official station, and the return function is selected in the app. 

The bikes which currently run as a mode of transport in Dublin, cost €1 to unlock and €0.20 per minute, and the pedal assisted electric bicycles travel up to 25km/h.

Labour Councillor, Conor Sheehan was showing off his cycling skills as he took to the park on the manual pedal bike.

"I myself have been a strong advocate for this in the last couple of years because the current docked bike scheme that we have is very limited," he said.

"What this does," he continued, "is it will allow people to pick up these bikes, from Locke Quay, all the way up to UL, all the way around Castletroy, and there will be parking zones around there." 

With both electric and pedal bikes on offer to use, the councillor said, "I would suggest that anybody try any bike, they are absolutely effortless."

"It's going to be a fantastic scheme," said Mayor of the City and County of Limerick, Francis Foley. "We have all these bicycle lanes put in place, and they will be used".