Council moves to introduce dockless bike-share scheme in Limerick
THE operator of any dockless bike-hire scheme in Limerick city will have to pay a permit fee for each individual bike in addition to an annual licence fee of €200.
That's according to draft bye-laws just published by the local authority which, if approved, will enable the roll out of such a scheme within the Metropolitan District.
A public consultation process is now underway and the final draft is expected to come before councillors, for approval, before the summer.
Unlike the current bike-hire scheme in Limerick city, a dockless system consists of bicycles with a lock that is usually integrated onto the frame and does not require a docking station.
The bikes can then be unlocked by customers and users who have registered and paid for the service via an app on their smartphone.
According to the draft bye-laws, any licenced operator will be permitted to make bikes available for hire at on-street locations once it is safe and does not obstruct traffic or pedestrians.
However, it will be open to the council to "prescribe streets/areas where dockless on-street hire bicycles should or should not
be deployed and where they cannot park."
The local authority may also limit the number of bicycles that can be parked in any specific street/area.
Any licenced operator will be allowed to use a fleet of pedal or electric bikes and the operator they will be required to retain anonymised data regarding their usage.
It is proposed that on-the-spot fines of €75 can be issued for breaches of the bye-laws while fines up to €1,904.60 can be imposed in the event of a court conviction.
The public consultation process on the proposed bye-laws continues until April 29 - more details here.