Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister is right. I served for ten years on Dublin City Council and I am passionate about bike sharing because I saw how Dublin Bikes worked and how much the people of the city love it.

I am often asked when it will expand. We know the technology has moved on and we are moving towards to stationless bikes. We also see a worrying trend in other cities where bike sharing companies are withdrawing from the market. I would like to see a model similar to that which we operate for buses. Let the NTA own the fleet and buy the 5,000 bikes we need in the city, after which we could issue a tender for existing companies to provide that service. That would ensure interoperability. It would also ensure that the State had control if any company were to encounter financial difficulties and ensure universal coverage. There is the matter of picking and choosing where parts of the city have this service and others do not.

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