Users of Moby’s on-street bicycle rental service have complained that the company has reduced its parking zone in Dublin City — the company has said that it’s due to its expansion into electric bicycles.
A Moby user, Kevin Sheedy, tweeted: “Very disappointing to see @MobyMove stop servicing large parts of central Dublin like @libertiesdublin which is already not served by DublinBikes.”
Thomas O Connell, CEO and founder of Moby, said it’s the “Same [reason] as Bleeper’s reduced operation area for electric bikes. We need to swap batteries, so we need bikes gathered in as few areas as possible outside the city centre so we can get to all batteries in time.”
UPDATE: O Connell said Moby has 500 electric and 200 standard bicycles on the street.
The Moby reduction also applies to non-electric stationless bicycle share offering.
Hugh Cooney, CEO of Bleeper, said that it operates two zones, one for electric bikes and one for standard bicycles. The map showing the two zones can be switched in their app.
He said: “We only have 50 e-bikes at the moment, so, that is why the service area is smaller than our pedal bike area.” He added that the company has 700 standard bicycles to support the wider area for non-electric bicycles.
Cooney said the company posted a blog post explaining the reason for the smaller zone for electric bicycles. It said, “As Bleeper’s e-bike fleet grows, we intend to expand the area that will be covered by the service. For now, please pay close attention to the map in the Bleeper app to ensure you park your e-bike within a designated operating zone.”
When asked what kind of target Bleeper has for electric bicycle expansion, he said that it’s “Too early to say” and that “Safe charging of lithium batteries is paramount, so, we are taking our time to ensure we get that right.”
It’s understood that the industry is cautious after a large fire in April at a DCU Alpha Campus in Glasnevin, which Moby rented and included a battery charging facility.