COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF LUCAN / PALMERSTOWN / NORTH CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, May 26, 2026

MOTION NO.20

MOTION: Councillor L. O'Toole

That this Area Committee requests the Chief Executive to examine the feasibility of introducing a public bicycle rental / bike-share scheme within the Lucan area including potential locations along the Grand Canal Greenway, Lucan Village, local parks, Adamstown and nearby public transport hubs such as train stations to support the significant increase in cycling and active travel within the area following the recent canal and public realm improvement works and to consider how such a scheme could facilitate bicycles being hired and returned at different locations to improve local connectivity, sustainable transport options, recreation and first/last mile access for residents and visitors.

REPORT:

The provision of a bike share scheme has previously been considered by the Council. A number of attempts to establish such schemes have not been successful, and these initiatives were subsequently discontinued.

Earlier schemes were impacted by relatively low population densities in suburban areas and a limited concentration of trip destinations outside the city centre. These conditions resulted in reduced demand and made it more challenging to achieve the critical mass required for a viable and sustainable bike share operation at that time. A key issue at the time was the tidal flow of demand towards to the city centre in the morning period and lack of recirculation of bicycles.

It is noted that Dublin’s existing public bike share scheme (“Dublinbikes”), which operates using docking stations, does not extend beyond the canal cordon. Similarly, dockless bike share schemes are largely confined to within the canal area, with only limited extension into smaller designated zones outside the city centre.

However, following the recent completion of several major Active Travel schemes, South Dublin County Council have commenced engagement with the National Transport Authority (NTA) to explore opportunities for introducing a new bike share scheme within South Dublin that would be compatible with a potential wider, city-wide network.

Any future proposals may initially be assessed on a county-wide basis, before being refined to identify the most appropriate operational areas.