Navan Shared Bike Scheme saw 6,000 journeys taken by the end of 2023
Hannah McNamara
Over 6,000 journeys have been made using the Navan shared bike scheme in 2023.
The initiative that was introduced on 1st August 2023 aimed to promote physical well-being with 25 push bikes and 25 electric bikes available for daily hire through an app. E-cargo bikes are also in talks of launching soon.
The idea is relatively simple, you download the app and insert your details including your payment details. Then, you simply select a vacant bike on the app's map, scan the QR code displayed on the bike or enter the bike number on the app and away you go.
Once journeys are completed the bikes can be left anywhere within the Navan flexzones. These zones are defined areas, outside the town centre, where the bikes can be flexibly left on any public road. The blue marked streets, also known as blue flexzones or an official station displayed on the map requires no extra costs. You can also return the bike to a pink flexzone for a €1 surcharge.
Within the first five months of the initiative being launched, the thousands of journeys covered approximately 28,000km. Additionally, roughly 2,000 residents signed up to the cycle service.
George Chamberlain, Senior Corporate Communications Manager at Tier said that the company was pleased with the figures since the service launched: "It’s not been live for very long, but the uptake has been encouraging."
"As you can imagine our business is affected by the seasons and it has been the wettest winter on record according to Met Éireann, so we're looking forward to 2024 and to the spring and summer, he added."
Happy with the reaction from the public in regards to the sustainability and accessibility of the scheme, Nextbike by Tier have not yet got plans to expand the service at this time.
Commenting on the 2023 statistics, Navan Cycling Initiative said: "It's brilliant to see such huge numbers using the NextBike bike sharing scheme. It shows that Navan is easily accessible by bike and that people are willing to commute and use them for everyday purposes.
"With plans to build a network of cycling lanes at various stages in Navan, some of which we hope to see complete in 2024, it will be made safer and easier to use the bikes, and we are sure we'll see even more people wanting to use them. Not only will this make it more convenient to get around the town, it will also go a long way to easing Navan's chronic traffic problems, especially at school times, as more people would be willing to cycle."
Navan Cycling Initiative believe that upgrading the facilities for cycling along Ratholdren Road and north Navan will help with the access to the Greenway, Blackwater Park, as well as lots of schools in the area.
A spokesperson said: "The greenway itself has been a massive success, and we hear from people all the time saying that it would be great to be able to cycle safely to it from the town centre.
“As the weather gets better there will be even more people visiting it and we are very concerned that someone will be seriously hurt on this road while we wait for a safe connection. The long-term plan will see new cycle lanes on the LDR4 Bridge and through Blackwater Park, but in reality this is still some time away and we really need to see interim measures in place."
They added: "The bike share scheme has really shown people that cycling is one of the most convenient ways to get around a town like Navan. The vast majority of car journeys in the town are under 2km, and over 26,000 people live within a 10 minute cycle of Navan town centre, so by enabling more people to cycle everyone will benefit."