DUBLIN city councillors have given the green light for an extension to the popular bike rental scheme in the capital, writes Ailish O'Hora.
It is understood an additional 100 new bicycles will be made available for city residents and tourists to use over the coming weeks.
In return for the extension, the company behind the scheme -- JC Decaux -- has been given free advertising in five Dublin city centre areas.
These include Nassau Street and Lower Mount Street on the southside of the city, and Earl Street on the northside.
The advertising will appear on bus shelters and stand-alone structures.
Councillors last night decided to defer a vote on one advertising site location outside the Xtra Vision store in Dublin 4's Upper Baggot Street.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label bikes for ads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bikes for ads. Show all posts
Tuesday, 27 July 2010
Advert sites to fund bike scheme approved
ADVERTISING FIRM JC Decaux is being given permission by Dublin City Council to erect five new advertising structures in the city to fund the expansion of the Dublin bikes scheme.
Councillors last night approved the construction of advertising display units, similar in size to bus shelter advertising, at Lower Mount Street and Nassau Street on the south side and North Earl Street on the north side of the city.
The have also given approval for two “metropoles” – larger panels of 7sq m on poles two metres off the ground – at Merrion Road and Lower Gardiner Street.
JC Decaux will have permission to advertise at these sites for 15 years.
In return, it will increase the number of stands where bikes can be picked up and dropped off from 795 to 1,087, increase bicycle numbers from 450 to 550, and set up four new stations at Smithfield, Eccles Street, Harcourt Terrace and Charlemont Mall.
When the scheme, which has been running since September, was originally being set up, JC Decaux had to apply to An Bord Pleanála for the advertising structures. The board rejected one-fifth of the company’s applications.
This time the council is using a provision of the planning acts known as “Part 8” which allows councillors to directly approve certain local authority works, bypassing the normal planning process.
The schemes were opposed by An Taisce who said they were “misuse of a Part 8 by a local authority to facilitate a private development”.
An Taisce said it was completely in favour of the bicycles but the use of Part 8 was depriving any third parties the right of appeal to An Bord Pleanála.
The huge popularity of the scheme, which already has more than 30,000 subscribers, had resulted in an urgent need for its expansion, the council said.
However the extra bikes and stations would cost an estimated €6.6 million, which it could not fund from its own resources.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Councillors last night approved the construction of advertising display units, similar in size to bus shelter advertising, at Lower Mount Street and Nassau Street on the south side and North Earl Street on the north side of the city.
The have also given approval for two “metropoles” – larger panels of 7sq m on poles two metres off the ground – at Merrion Road and Lower Gardiner Street.
JC Decaux will have permission to advertise at these sites for 15 years.
In return, it will increase the number of stands where bikes can be picked up and dropped off from 795 to 1,087, increase bicycle numbers from 450 to 550, and set up four new stations at Smithfield, Eccles Street, Harcourt Terrace and Charlemont Mall.
When the scheme, which has been running since September, was originally being set up, JC Decaux had to apply to An Bord Pleanála for the advertising structures. The board rejected one-fifth of the company’s applications.
This time the council is using a provision of the planning acts known as “Part 8” which allows councillors to directly approve certain local authority works, bypassing the normal planning process.
The schemes were opposed by An Taisce who said they were “misuse of a Part 8 by a local authority to facilitate a private development”.
An Taisce said it was completely in favour of the bicycles but the use of Part 8 was depriving any third parties the right of appeal to An Bord Pleanála.
The huge popularity of the scheme, which already has more than 30,000 subscribers, had resulted in an urgent need for its expansion, the council said.
However the extra bikes and stations would cost an estimated €6.6 million, which it could not fund from its own resources.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Bike depots to open in March
ORTY depots for free public bikes in Dublin are to be rolled out next month in the final stages of a controversial deal between Dublin City Council and the French firm JC Decaux.
Around 120 separate locations for the bike bases were considered by council officials, which will be split with 55% of sites on the southside of the city and 45% on the northside.
However, while the final decisions are being made on the whereabouts of bike stations, the contract between JC Decaux and the council is still to be examined by an audit committee in order to establish its value for money.
The company has been supplied with some 72 advertising boards worth around €1m a year in exchange for providing the city with 450 bicycles which can be used by the public.
In a statement to the Sunday Tribune, Dublin City Council said that as part of the recent selection procedure for the bike depots, officials had to take into account "underground services constraints, allowing for future Metro/Luas works etc".
Each station will have a "monitoring system" which will automatically communicate information to a distribution centre on the amount of rentals and returns at each station.
"On a frequent basis throughout the day the stations are visited and checked by staff who will redistribute the bicycles to ensure that there are opportunities to take or return a bicycle at each station."
Each depot will have a maximum capacity for around 20 bikes.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Around 120 separate locations for the bike bases were considered by council officials, which will be split with 55% of sites on the southside of the city and 45% on the northside.
However, while the final decisions are being made on the whereabouts of bike stations, the contract between JC Decaux and the council is still to be examined by an audit committee in order to establish its value for money.
The company has been supplied with some 72 advertising boards worth around €1m a year in exchange for providing the city with 450 bicycles which can be used by the public.
In a statement to the Sunday Tribune, Dublin City Council said that as part of the recent selection procedure for the bike depots, officials had to take into account "underground services constraints, allowing for future Metro/Luas works etc".
Each station will have a "monitoring system" which will automatically communicate information to a distribution centre on the amount of rentals and returns at each station.
"On a frequent basis throughout the day the stations are visited and checked by staff who will redistribute the bicycles to ensure that there are opportunities to take or return a bicycle at each station."
Each depot will have a maximum capacity for around 20 bikes.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Bicycle rental scheme to go ahead
The French scheme was introduced 18 months ago with 20,000 bicycles, but 7,800 have already been stolen and 1 1,600 have been vandalised or damaged, according to figures released by JCDecaux.
Re¤mi Pheulpin, director general of JCDecaux, told French media the scheme was unsustainable since all of the costs were borne by the company, while the revenues went to the city. He said a private company could not shoulder the burden alone.
However, a spokesman for Dublin City Council said the situation in Paris would not have any impact on plans for the Dublin scheme. He said the council had a 15-year contract with JCDecaux, which sees the advertising firm bear sole responsibility for the replacement and maintenance of the bicycles.
Under the terms of the Dublin deal, JCDecaux is to supply 450 bikes in exchange for 72 advertising panels in city centre locations.
The council spokesman said that ‘‘enabling work’’ for the scheme was due to begin next month and it would take three to four months before the scheme would be in operation. The council has already identified 40 sites at which bikes will be installed in racks around the city for use by the public.
The scheme will be electronically run, with users pre-paying for use either through a smart card or credit card.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Re¤mi Pheulpin, director general of JCDecaux, told French media the scheme was unsustainable since all of the costs were borne by the company, while the revenues went to the city. He said a private company could not shoulder the burden alone.
However, a spokesman for Dublin City Council said the situation in Paris would not have any impact on plans for the Dublin scheme. He said the council had a 15-year contract with JCDecaux, which sees the advertising firm bear sole responsibility for the replacement and maintenance of the bicycles.
Under the terms of the Dublin deal, JCDecaux is to supply 450 bikes in exchange for 72 advertising panels in city centre locations.
The council spokesman said that ‘‘enabling work’’ for the scheme was due to begin next month and it would take three to four months before the scheme would be in operation. The council has already identified 40 sites at which bikes will be installed in racks around the city for use by the public.
The scheme will be electronically run, with users pre-paying for use either through a smart card or credit card.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 14 December 2008
Council probe may put brakes on secret bike deal
A LUCRATIVE advertising contract given to a French company for Dublin city in exchange for 450 public bicycles is to be scrutinised by an independent audit committee, the Sunday Tribune has learned.
Concerns have surrounded the deal between Dublin City Council and JC Decaux – understood to be worth around €1m per year – as a result of strict secrecy regarding its content.
JC Decaux is set to provide the capital with the free bicycles to be used by the public, as well as some tourist signage, in exchange for 72 advertising billboards.
The deal has come under fire by politicians and business groups, many of whom believe that the public are not getting value for money.
However, a degree of transparency is finally expected following a decision last week to expose the details of the contract to an independent audit committee at Dublin City Council.
Amongst those charged with examining the agreement are senior figures at UCD, DIT and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountability.
Last year a new brand of local authority audit committees were established, allowing independent monitoring of the financial workings of a council under the expert guidance of external committee members.
Concern over the arrangement led to an application for the contract to be examined by the audit committee.
Committee members who will examine the deal include Tom McAleese of Chambers Ireland, UCD vice president for capital and commer-
cial development Eamonn Ceannt, Dublin Institute of Technology president Brian Norton, William Carrie of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountability and Dublin City
Councillors Dermot Lacey, Gerry Breen and Michael Donnelly.
Cllr Lacey, who put forward the application to have the contracts examined, said it was "unsatisfactory that public representatives were left guessing as to the exact nature of the agreement."
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Concerns have surrounded the deal between Dublin City Council and JC Decaux – understood to be worth around €1m per year – as a result of strict secrecy regarding its content.
JC Decaux is set to provide the capital with the free bicycles to be used by the public, as well as some tourist signage, in exchange for 72 advertising billboards.
The deal has come under fire by politicians and business groups, many of whom believe that the public are not getting value for money.
However, a degree of transparency is finally expected following a decision last week to expose the details of the contract to an independent audit committee at Dublin City Council.
Amongst those charged with examining the agreement are senior figures at UCD, DIT and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountability.
Last year a new brand of local authority audit committees were established, allowing independent monitoring of the financial workings of a council under the expert guidance of external committee members.
Concern over the arrangement led to an application for the contract to be examined by the audit committee.
Committee members who will examine the deal include Tom McAleese of Chambers Ireland, UCD vice president for capital and commer-
cial development Eamonn Ceannt, Dublin Institute of Technology president Brian Norton, William Carrie of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountability and Dublin City
Councillors Dermot Lacey, Gerry Breen and Michael Donnelly.
Cllr Lacey, who put forward the application to have the contracts examined, said it was "unsatisfactory that public representatives were left guessing as to the exact nature of the agreement."
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
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