10,000 subscribe to Cork bike scheme with calls for the scheme to be expanded

MORE than 10,000 people have subscribed to the Cork ‘Coke Zero’ public bike scheme since it began, and businesses in the city have called for it to be expanded.

The public bike scheme has clocked up 720,000 trips in the two-and-a-half-years since its 2014 launch, five times more trips than the total number seen in Galway and Limerick.

“A survey of our business members undertaken in October shows how 62% of business use a private car when accessing or travelling through the city, followed by 15% cycling,” said Thomas McHugh, director of Policy & External Relations at Cork Chamber.

“Of those using the public bike scheme, 27% of those surveyed use the scheme to access and travel between meetings, a percentage that Cork Chamber believes can grow substantially.

“Most significantly, 85% of those surveyed stated that they would use the scheme if it was expanded to further locations, with 55% indicating that an expansion was of high priority.”

Cork Chamber members have suggested that the areas with most need for the scheme are Blackrock and Douglas, CIT and Blackpool.

The chamber has made a formal request to the National Transport Authority to expand the existing scheme. “A key element in growing sustainably is to develop strategically and invest in our sustainable and public transport networks,” Mr McHugh said.

“Cork now has a public transport infrastructure requirement that is greater than ever and it is critical that more commitment is made towards the development of public and sustainable transport delivery in the light of growing urbanisation, future population projections and our national commitment to climate change mitigation.”

A separate public survey public survey, conducted via the Cork Transport and Mobility Forum found that 60% of the participating general public indicated the expansion of the bike scheme as being of high priority, with 46% stating that they would be more likely to use the scheme if there were additional station locations. The top three locations identified by public users were Blackpool, County Hall and Blackrock.

Census 2016 showed that only 8% of commuters in Cork city and suburbs use public transport to get to work, while just over 2,300 cycle.