Cork’s Bike Scheme Leads the Way: Half-day public seminar hosted by Transport and Mobility Forum, Cork

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Metropole Hotel, Cork

The launch of the Coke-Zero public bike-share scheme in Cork in late 2014, in tandem with the introduction of cycle infrastructure across the city centre, represented a very significant change to the city’s mobility offering. The city centre has been retrofitted to accommodate and promote cycling as a low cost and convenient alternative mode of transport. Getting around Cork’s city centre without a car has been given a new dimension.

Early skepticism about the project’s feasibility and the city’s ability to become cycle-friendly has gradually been replaced by an awareness of the success of the project. Cork’s approach is now being heralded as a model for other cities, having attracted higher than expected uptake. There are 7,400 subscribers in Cork and total journeys in Cork reached 290,000 in 2015 – this is five times higher than Limerick and Galway combined. In Cork, on an all-year average, each of the 330 bikes is used 2.5 times a day. There are now calls from a number of institutions, businesses, and the wider public to extend the scheme beyond the city centre.

The Transport and Mobility Forum Cork are hosting a half-day seminar on the scheme called ‘’Connecting Cork Public Bike Schemes – Continuing the Journey’’ which will discuss the development of the bike scheme so far and present a discussion on how best to facilitate the scheme’s expansion to connect it with further major employment locations, third and second level institutes, hospitals, shopping centres etc. beyond its current limits.

One year after the CokeZero-Bikes’ official launch (2nd March 2015), the event includes an overview from the from National Transport Authority (NTA) as the agency responsible for the scheme’s roll out, a presentation from Cork City Council’s Roads and Transportation Directorate on infrastructure provision, and a review of the scheme by a team of researchers from UCCs Centre for Planning. This will be followed by contributions from Clonakilty Community Bike Scheme, the first community based bike rental scheme in the country, as well as speakers from Cork University Hospital and County Hall. Beyond the city limits, options for smaller scale schemes in towns around the county will be looked at, too.

The presentations will be followed by Q+A as well as a general audience discussion on experiences and future perspectives.

Time: Tuesday 8th March 2016, 2-5pm (Registration from 1.30pm)

Venue: Metropole Hotel, MacCurtain St, Cork City.

Contacts

For more information, please contact

Bernie Connolly (TMF / Cork Environmental Forum):

083 146 8064 / bernadette@cef.ie ,

For registration queries, please contact

Clare Deasy (TMF / HSE): 021-492 1641 / transportandmobilityforum@gmail.com  transportandmobilityforum.com/

The Cork Transport and Mobility Forum consists of representatives of advocacy groups for various forms of transportation, sustainable travel initiatives and health, public transport providers, relevant staff from the public sector at a local, regional and national level and various interested representatives from the private sector. See transportandmobilityforum.com/partners/ for the list of partners

Chair: Stephan Koch, UCC; Vice Chair: Bryan Riney, Cork County Council