DUBLIN CITY Council is to increase the capacity of its Dublinbikes rental stations in the coming weeks because of the huge popularity of the scheme. The council also has longer-term plans to introduce new station locations and increase the number of bikes available to users. More than 16,000 people have subscribed to the scheme since it was introduced just six weeks ago, making it the most popular city bike scheme to date in Europe, according to the council. “More than 11,500 people have registered for annual passes and around 4,000 for day or three-day tickets, so we’re absolutely chuffed with it,” council communications manager Michael Sands said. There is also a very fast turnover of bicycles with an average usage time of 16-17 minutes. Rental is then free for half an hour and costs 50 cents for the first hour, rising to €6.50 for four hours. However, the popularity of the bicycles and the rapid turnover has resulted in a shortage of bicycles at many stations and a shortage of free spaces to return bicycles at others. The additional spaces will be paid for by
JC Decaux, the out-door advertising company which won the contract to provide the bike scheme in return for advertising space in the city.
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