There are 2.5 million stationless bikes available to rent in Beijing, and some argue that Dublin will require 60,000

Stationless rental bikes are expected to be available in Dublin by March but will be capped at 3,000 bikes.

Dublin city council will implement bylaws to regulate new schemes before the end of the year and will then advertise for applicants to provide the bikes in mid-January. Several companies have expressed an interest in providing the service, which is already available in several cities across the world including Beijing, Singapore and San Francisco.

Stationless bikes provide greater flexibility for users because, unlike the existing Dublinbikes scheme, they do not need to be collected from or returned to dedicated docking stations. Instead, users can locate available bikes by using an app and then leave them at their destination using a “smart lock” with an in-built GPS