40% of Dublin firms in cargo bicycle pilot scheme already committed to renting or ownership

— 90% see future use of cargo bicycles in their businesses.
— Council now looking for businesses and community groups to try cargo bikes.

Dublin City Council has said it is making its electric cargo bike for business scheme permanent after positive feedback from the trial scheme.

Businesses can now apply for a 60% subsidy on the rental price of cargo bicycles for 12 months, and community groups apply for free use for 12 months. The council is also offering free short-term loans to the public.

According to the council, at the end of the trial, 90% of business participants indicated that they could see a use for cargo bikes in their business and 40% of participants have already taken the leap to integrating cargo bike use in their businesses.

22 businesses took part in the trial for between 6-12 months and cycled a combined 34,691km. The council calculates that they avoided 4,372kg of CO2 when compared to using a small commercial van for their transport needs.

“We used the original pilot project to identify some of the barriers to cargo bike use,” said Jennifer McGrath, senior executive engineer in Dublin City Council’s Micromobility Unit. “One of those barriers is cost, which is why we’re making these cargo bikes available to try for free to non-profit organisations and the general public.”

Other businesses are now being invited to participate in the scheme which sees the council providing a 60% subsidy on the rental cost for up to 12 months, while community groups are to get a 100% subsidy. Dublin City Council is now accepting applications from businesses and non-profits who wish to trial cargo bikes via Bleeper — your business or non-profit group can apply via bleeperactive.com/dcc/cargobikes.

The Dublin City Community Cargo Bike is also now available to hire from The Bike Hub at Eamonn Ceannt Park, with bookings to be made via cargobike.thebikehub.ie.

Lord Mayor of Dublin City, Cllr Daithí de Róiste, said: “Cargo bikes are good for our environment and our health and wellbeing. They offer us a climate-friendly transport mode that can save on emissions, aligning with Dublin City Council’s Climate Action Plan, its Development Plan, and the climate ambitions of Dublin’s citizens and businesses.”

There is a similar scheme for businesses in the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council area also run by Bleeper and still at the pilot stage, while Fingal has recently launched its community cargo bike in Dublin 15.