![BELFAST BIKE AT BLACKSTAFF SQUARE [THIS SCHEME HAS NOT BEEN TROUBLE FREE]-134059 | by infomatique](http://live.staticflickr.com/4518/38454048006_acf7f324c4.jpg)
BELFAST BIKE AT BLACKSTAFF SQUARE [THIS SCHEME HAS NOT BEEN TROUBLE FREE]-134059
Officially at Europa Bus Station/Blackstaff Square, Belfast [Docking Station number: 3910]. I would describe it as being on Amelia Street - Brunswick Street which is a distance from the Bus Station.
When the DublinBikes scheme was launched everyone expected to be a total failure but it turned out to be a huge success and much to everybody's surprise it has not been impacted by anti-social activity. The outstanding features of the Dublin Scheme are the high quality of the bikes, the superior quality of the docking stations and the excellent management of the bikes.
As a result of the success of DublinBikes other cities in Ireland decided to introduce schemes and in general they have not really duplicated the success of the Dublin network. In my opinion the lack of success is due the poor quality of equipment supplied by the sponsors.
The public bike share scheme for Belfast City was launched on Monday 27 April 2015 as part of a physical investment programme and Coca-Cola Zero Belfast Bikes provided 40 bike docking stations in the city centre.
When I first saw the Belfast scheme in 2015 I thought that everything about it was poor quality and badly managed. Many of my photographs showed a surplus of bikes at many of the docking stations and that many of the bikes that had been returned by users were leaning against walls, trees or street furniture. In 2016 when I visited again things had not really improved.
Early this year [2017] it was reported that more than 35% of the Belfast bicycles are out of action due to ongoing vandalism or theft and according to Belfast City Council over the 2017 Easter weekend 19 bikes were stolen and a further eight were vandalised.
Belfast City Council published information relating to subsidies to the scheme. In its first year, the Council subsidised it to the tune of £173,000. From April 2016 to April 2017, this increased to £215,000, despite a Business Case showing subsidies would reduce from £56,440 (April 2015 to April 2016), £23,050 (April 2016 - April 2017) and return a profit of £10,730 (April 2017 - April 2018).
BELFAST BIKE AT BLACKSTAFF SQUARE [THIS SCHEME HAS NOT BEEN TROUBLE FREE]-134059
Officially at Europa Bus Station/Blackstaff Square, Belfast [Docking Station number: 3910]. I would describe it as being on Amelia Street - Brunswick Street which is a distance from the Bus Station.
When the DublinBikes scheme was launched everyone expected to be a total failure but it turned out to be a huge success and much to everybody's surprise it has not been impacted by anti-social activity. The outstanding features of the Dublin Scheme are the high quality of the bikes, the superior quality of the docking stations and the excellent management of the bikes.
As a result of the success of DublinBikes other cities in Ireland decided to introduce schemes and in general they have not really duplicated the success of the Dublin network. In my opinion the lack of success is due the poor quality of equipment supplied by the sponsors.
The public bike share scheme for Belfast City was launched on Monday 27 April 2015 as part of a physical investment programme and Coca-Cola Zero Belfast Bikes provided 40 bike docking stations in the city centre.
When I first saw the Belfast scheme in 2015 I thought that everything about it was poor quality and badly managed. Many of my photographs showed a surplus of bikes at many of the docking stations and that many of the bikes that had been returned by users were leaning against walls, trees or street furniture. In 2016 when I visited again things had not really improved.
Early this year [2017] it was reported that more than 35% of the Belfast bicycles are out of action due to ongoing vandalism or theft and according to Belfast City Council over the 2017 Easter weekend 19 bikes were stolen and a further eight were vandalised.
Belfast City Council published information relating to subsidies to the scheme. In its first year, the Council subsidised it to the tune of £173,000. From April 2016 to April 2017, this increased to £215,000, despite a Business Case showing subsidies would reduce from £56,440 (April 2015 to April 2016), £23,050 (April 2016 - April 2017) and return a profit of £10,730 (April 2017 - April 2018).