Badly parked or abandoned TIER bikes have risen from 5per cent (2022) up to 30 per cent in Dublin 15 during the summer, claims Cllr Angela Donnelly.
The SF councillor for Ongar says she has been inundated with calls and emails from residents complaining about the amount of dumped TIER bikes around D 15 in recent months. But those hiring the popular and environmentally friendly travel machines should note that abandonment fines has now increased from €2 to €20.
“At one point over the last month, there were four bikes in various states of abandonment or vandalised along a short stretch of road in Hartstown,” said Cllr Donnelly. “Bramblefield in Littlepace had a TIER bike burnt out. Another bike was taken from the canal. I contacted Fingal upon receipt of each complaint and the bikes were removed but more recently, I asked the council if they knew whether the users were dumping them (and therefore being fined) or if they were being taken from stands and dumped?”
Cllr Angela Donnelly (SF for Ongar)
The SF elected representative claimed it is a growing issue. “One of the bikes I saw, had no wheels. These eBikes are a great resource, but they need to be picked up as soon as possible, when the GPS indicates they are not at an approved parking station,” said Cllr Donnelly.
A comprehensive response from Fingal County Council was then received which reported that badly parked bikes in D 15 have risen from 5pc when the service launched in June 2022 to over 30pc this summer.
Burnt TIER bike abandoned at Bramblewood
“It was confirmed an abandoned eBike is one that has been hired by a member of the public and parked away from a Sheffield Stand or a Virtual Parking Bay. This makes them far more likely to be tampered with,” said Cllr Donnelly.
According to the information received by FCC, it is evident that the increase in poorly parked bikes coincided with TIER’s introduction of a €2 convenience fee, which charged users if they were unable/unwilling to finish their trip at a designated parking area, this fee was introduced across Ireland, Europe and the UK on a trial basis and has worked extremely well in most cities.
€20 abandonment fines now effective
However, it has not been a success in Fingal. A representative from FCC met with TIER this week and insisted that the convenience fee trial be discontinued throughout Fingal, and be replaced with a €20 abandonment fee. This change was implemented on Thursday last, September 28.
“On a positive note, D 15 is the busiest bike share location in Fingal, and as such, both of our licensed bike share providers have been asked to prioritise rebalancing of bikes in this area. This will see them moving from inspections every 48hrs to inspections every 36hrs, which again should improve the service.
“The removal of the convenience fee will also help TIER to identify damaged bikes and remove them from service more quickly. Since TIER have been operating in Fingal there have been just under 30,000 trips covering a 117,000km which shows what a valuable resource it is,” concluded Cllr Donnelly.
Feature photo of bikes abandoned on the road towards Willow ‘s Drive
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