Bike-sharing options may be extended in Mayo
Plans to extend bike sharing options in Mayo are being negotiated in light of the huge success of the pilot Lime Bike schemes in Castlebar and Westport.
Mayo County Council's Director of Services David Mellett told last week's meeting of the Roads and Sustainable Travel Strategic Policy Committee of shared mobility services, which essentially relates to the rollout of electric bikes for hire and pick-up via an app, around the county.
“The objectives are to reduce car dependence, support climate targets and improve access to public transport. The system is operated by private companies but regulated by the local authority to ensure it is a viable and equitable service.”
Mr Mellett said options include introducing a shared mobility service by-law across the county and then issuing licences to operators, similar to how the casual trading system works. Consideration was being given to 12-month contracts to allow for multiple operators to get involved and attract competition. However, limitations include the fact that operators tend to focus on high demand areas such as towns and urban centres, which means less busy areas lose out and it could also lead to too many operators coming in. The council is therefore proposing to offer a competitive tender for one operator to engage in a long-term services contract model, which would ensure that all areas designated by the council would be covered.
He recalled the pilot Lime Bike scheme began in Castlebar in 2022 and was extended to Westport in 2024.
“Both were seen as successful and then we moved towards a contract-based model for Ballina and Claremorris, also with an option to expand to other towns.”
User figures for the first six months in Castlebar showed a total of 11,000 trips took place on the Lime Bikes and by March 2024 this increased to 50,000 and then up to 100,000 trips by April 2025.
“This equates to 150,000km travelled which equates to approximately 64,000 car journeys and over 42,000kg of CO2 saved. So there is demand for these facilities and it does take car journeys out of our urban areas, which is what we want.”
The plan to move forward with the services contract model was supported by the forum.
