Dublin City Council has announced a range of new initiatives to boost the use of the ecargo bike in the city. The announcement comes on the back of a successful pilot scheme which saw more than 20 local businesses trialling electric cargo bikes over the past two years.
One of the new projects will provide electric cargo bikes to non-profit organisations such as community groups, charities and sports clubs. These bikes will be available for a loan period of up to 12-months, with the full cost subsidised by Dublin City Council.
The original Ecargo Bikes for Business pilot scheme has also been made permanent, meaning local businesses can trial an electric cargo bike for up to 12 months, with Dublin City Council providing a 60% subsidy on the rental cost.
The third project sees the launch of a new Community Cargo Bike which can be hired for free by the public. The first of these shared cargo bikes will be based at The Bike Hub in Eamonn Ceannt Park in Crumlin.
These announcements are the continuation of a project which began in September 2021 when Dublin City Council announced its Ecargo Bikes for Business pilot project.
That scheme saw 22 local businesses trial cargo bikes for prolonged periods of six to twelve months, with 60% of the cost subsidised by the city council.
Those businesses clocked up a combined 34,691km over the course of the pilot – the equivalent of a trip from Dublin to Sydney and back again!
The pilot project also helped the businesses to avoid emitting an estimated 4,372kg of CO2 when compared to using a small commercial van for their transport needs.
At the end of the trial 90% of participants indicated that they could see a use for cargo bikes in their business, while 40% of participants actually took the leap and became permanent cargo bike users.
The new projects announced today are aimed at broadening the appeal of cargo bikes and enabling more people to try them out.
The Community Cargo Bike in Crumlin will be available for short-term hire, allowing people to test out their usefulness for everyday trips such as doing the weekly shopping.
Jennifer McGrath, Senior Executive Engineer in DCC’s Micromobility Unit, said, “we used the original pilot project to identify some of the barriers to cargo bike use. One of those barriers is cost, which is why we’re making these cargo bikes available to try for free to non-profit organisations and the general public.”
“We were delighted that so many businesses became permanent cargo bike users after the pilot project, which was a big factor in making the Cargo Bikes for Business scheme permanent. Thankfully we’ve had strong support from the National Transport Authority from the very start which has enabled us to broaden the scope of the project as we went along.”
The announcement of the new cargo bike projects was made at an event hosted in Dublin’s Mansion House, with many of the participants from the original pilot scheme attending – along with their cargo bikes.
Welcoming the new projects, Lord Mayor of Dublin Daithí de Róiste said Dublin City Council was showcasing the use of cargo bikes as a more sustainable option for deliveries in the city, said, “cargo bikes are good for our environment and our health & wellbeing. They offer us a climate-friendly transport mode that can save on emissions, aligning with Dublin City Council’s Climate Action Plan, its Development Plan, and the climate ambitions of Dublin’s citizens and businesses.”
Dublin City Council is now accepting applications from businesses and non-profits who wish to trial cargo bikes. All of the information and the application form can be found on www.dublincity.ie or www.bleeperactive.com
The Community Cargo Bike is available to hire from The Bike Hub in Eamonn Ceannt Park, with bookings to be made via the website www.thebikehub.ie
Source: Dublin City Council
