In Dublin the public bicycle scheme allows users to get the first thirty minutes for free
Belfast Council has shown no interest in a proposal to reverse large price increases for Belfast Bikes.
At the October meeting of the full Belfast City Council, held this week, the chamber’s sole People Before Profit Councillor, Michael Collins, failed to find a seconder in a chamber of 60 councillors to back his proposal to reverse recent huge price hikes for the city’s public bicycle service.
Around 400 new bikes, around of them electric bikes, were unveiled by the latest operator Beryl last month in the new “Frank and Honest” Belfast Bikes scheme, and with it new rates that are almost almost double what they used to be.
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The Belfast bike scheme was introduced in April 2015 with 30 docking stations and 300 bikes. Now there are 60 docking stations across Belfast, which will remain in use for the new system. The cost of a 20 minute pay-as-you-go ride on a pedal bike was £1 under the previous scheme but is now £1.90. It is the first price rise since 2018.
Annual membership for the new bicycle rental scheme introduced across Belfast is set to cost £120. The 3,000-minute cycle bundle for the Belfast Bikes will be five times the old price, which used to cost £25 for the year’s membership.
Councillor Collins said before the chamber: “Belfast Bikes has been an amazing project, and it is great to see so many bicycles for public use in the City Centre. But I do want to raise concerns regarding the revamped recycling scheme in Belfast.
“That scheme, which was launched just a couple of weeks ago, is provided by the company Beryl, who run similar schemes in towns and cities. My concern is that service users will have to not only pay two and a half times more than they used to pay under the previous scheme, but the new scheme is considerably more expensive than other schemes in cities such as Dublin or London.”
He added: “For example, in the London Bike scheme, users pay £1.65 for a 30 minute cycle, while in Dublin cyclists are able to use the bikes for 30 minutes, for free, under the Dublin Bikes scheme. Yet those using an Ebike under the revamped Belfast initiative will end up paying around £5.20 for 30 minutes. That is a lot more expensive.
“Also, the Dublin model offers an annual subscription for Ebikes at 94 euros, that is £82 per year, yet Belfast prices are £130 for the annual subscription to the Ebike scheme. I am concerned these price hikes will only increase the service in place for people who don’t have a car, or who want to leave the car at home in order to take up active travel.”
He proposed the council write to the service Beryl, urging them to reduce the cost of Ebikes “in line with other major cities.” No other elected representative seconded him.
Councillor Collins said after the meeting: “We are extremely disappointed that no other party seconded our proposal to reject these price increases. These hikes mean service users in Belfast will now pay two and a half times more than they previously did. And when compared to Dublin or London, prices are now substantially higher.
“Increasing prices for the Belfast Bike Scheme only puts more barriers in place for people seeking to avoid using cars in favour of environmentally friendly transport.
“We should be following the example of Dublin, where it is free to use the bike scheme for the first 30 minutes of your cycle. This incentivises people to engage in healthy travel and reduces emissions in the city.”
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