Council announces new Ecargo bike initiatives

Dublin City Council has announced a range of new initiatives to boost the use of cargo bikes in the city.

The announcement comes on the back of a successful pilot scheme which saw more than 20 local businesses trialling electric cargo bikes over the past two years.

One of the new projects will provide electric cargo bikes to non-profit organisations such as community groups, charities and sports clubs. These bikes will be available for a loan period of up to 12-months, with the full cost subsidised by Dublin City Council.

The original Ecargo bikes for business pilot scheme has also been made permanent, meaning local businesses can trial an electric cargo bike for up to 12 months, with Dublin City Council providing a 60% subsidy on the rental cost.

The third project sees the launch of a new Community Cargo bike which can be hired for free by the public. The first of these shared cargo bikes will be based at The bike Hub in Eamonn Ceannt Park in Crumlin.

Today’s announcements are the continuation of a project which began in September 2021 when Dublin City Council announced its Ecargo bikes for business pilot project. That scheme saw 22 local businesses trial cargo bikes for prolonged periods of six to twelve months, with 60% of the cost subsidised by the city council. Those businesses clocked up a combined 34,691km over the course of the pilot - the equivalent of a trip from Dublin to Sydney and back again!

The pilot project also helped the businesses to avoid emitting an estimated 4,372kg of CO2 when compared to using a small commercial van for their transport needs. At the end of the trial 90% of participants indicated that they could see a use for cargo bikes in their business, while 40% of participants actually took the leap and became permanent