Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)
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22. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will provide an update on his plans to increase the number of e-bike sharing schemes in Dublin city; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10468/23]

Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party)
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In accordance with the relevant legislation, I recently approved the Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy 2022-2042 prepared by the National Transport Authority (NTA). This Strategy includes an objective stating that: “[t]he NTA will support the provision of electric bike share schemes, appropriately integrated in the overall bike share scheme structure for the region.”

The Transport Strategy also sets out the need for interoperability between schemes to avoid a scenario where “a multitude of singular schemes operating across the region, means that a user may need to be a member of, and subscriber to, multiple schemes in order to cover the spectrum of trips that he or she may wish to make.” The NTA intends to work with the existing and new bike scheme operators to “put in place interoperability arrangements between bike sharing schemes within the GDA such that the customer of one scheme is enabled to use the bikes of another scheme, and will explore the role of Next Generation Ticketing in this regard.”

Significant investment has already been made in the provision of electric bikes in Dublin City as part of the dublinbikesscheme operated for Dublin City Council by JCDecaux. Funding was provided to the City Council for the provision of 800 e-bikes which can both be used as a standard bicycle or operated as an electric bike by just slotting in a small battery pack, available to the applicable scheme members.

The NTA is currently undertaking an analysis of micro-mobility provision in the wider Dublin region, to identify the optimal operating model which will facilitate an increased level of shared micro-mobility use, focussing on standard bikes, e-bikes and e-scooters. A core objective of the analysis is to develop a framework for supporting shared micromobility solutions that complement and integrate with the public transport system and are provided equitably across geographic areas. That work is ongoing and an overall framework is expected to be developed over the coming months, which will then guide the further expansion of e-bike sharing.