DublinBikes, Dublin City Council's bike rental scheme, has secured a new commercial partner in a multi-year deal despite a decline in subscribers since the pandemic period. The scheme is running at a loss and is believed to be costing the city €500,000 per year.
However, some 38 million journeys have been made on the bikes since they were launched in 2009, which has taken vehicle traffic off the road and reduced congestion in Dunlin city centre.
Dublin City Council has confirmed subscriptions to the scheme have reduced dramatically in recent years, starting with the pandemic period when far fewer people were moving around the city centre.
Even though restrictions associated with the pandemic have long been lifted, many workplaces in the city centre have put in place a three-day work-from-office schedule. This has reduced the number of people in the city, especially on Mondays and Fridays.
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The annual membership for the scheme was also increased to €35, from €25, in 2020. DublinBikes - which is built around docking stations, where bikes are collected and returned - is now also competing with a number of smaller bike rental schemes that operate without docking stations.
Under the terms of use, DublinBikes members can use the bikes free of charge of every trip of 30 minutes or less. The the next half hour costs 50 cent and the fee increases for longer journeys.
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The scheme has not been expanded for the last six years but on Monday, councillors at a meeting of Dublin City Council agreed a motion - by Cllr Ray Cunningham (Greens) - to expand the area served by DublinBikes.
The council's chief executive, Richard Shakespeare, said plans to expand the scheme were “not under consideration”, even though a new sponsor had been secured after almost one year.
RedClick, a motor and home insurance provider, is the new commercial partner, in a deal that will run for three years. Advertising company, JCDecaux, was the first commercial partner, with the firm funding DublinBikes from the start in exchange for free advertising space around Dublin.
In 2014 Coca Cola began sponsoring DublinBikes, and did so for three years, before takeaway delivery company, Just Eat, took over. In 2020, a new €2.25m deal, over three years, was struck with Now TV.
Lord Mayor of Dublin, James Geoghegan, said DublinBikes was "more than a transport scheme; it is a vital part of Dublin’s identity". It would endure now RedClick was on board as a new commercial partner.
General manager of RedClick, Lorenzo Ioan, said its sponsorship of DublinBikes "reflects RedClick’s commitment to community support, sustainability and simplicity".
"Guided by our lifetime partner strategy, we believe in making insurance easy and smart, just as DublinBikes offers a simple way to get around the city," he added.
