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Marc O'Sullivan

After a troubled Dublin launch, BleeperBike has found a way back on the streets

The ‘stationless’ bike scheme has launched in south Dublin and two universities.

AFTER A STYMIED launch in Dublin’s centre, bike-sharing company BleeperBike is taking its ‘stationless’ scheme to the city’s south ahead of a planned rollout outside the capital.

Earlier this year, the startup’s first foray was stopped in its tracks by Dublin City Council when the local authority determined that draft bye-laws to regulate the service were required.

This resulted in BleeperBike’s stationless bikes, which can be located and activated via a smartphone app, being removed from the city’s streets - where they would compete with the council-supported Dublinbikes scheme – until bye-laws were drafted.

Speaking to Fora, BleeperBike founder Hugh Cooney said he had his “business hat on” and wanted to be first to the market after cooking up the idea for a year.

“This is going to be competitive market and there will be others, not just BleeperBike, six or 12 months down the road. I had meetings with Dublin City Council. I didn’t have a ‘yes’ or a ‘no’, so I made a decision to secure first-mover advantage.”

Since BleeperBike’s stunted launch, another Irish startup in the space called Urbo has started a pilot scheme in London and wants to make similar moves in Ireland.

Sean O'Hara Eddie Taffee Tony O'Grady Laura Leonard all SDCC Daniel McLoughlin CE SDCC Mayor Gogarty John Mills BleeperBike Barry Clark BleeperBike Hugh Cooney CEO BleeperBike Hugh Cooney (far right) SDCC SDCC

Cooney said he has no intention of fighting Dublin City Council over the bye-laws, which were due to be discussed at this month’s council meeting but have been delayed until November.

Instead the Portobello-based startup is focused on finding new areas to launch and has cut a deal to run a pilot scheme in areas around south county Dublin.

BleeperBike also has the all-clear to place its bikes at locations in University College Dublin and Dublin City University.

Students can use bikes at the university to travel outside the campus but must end a journey at a bike rack that is also within college grounds.

Cooney told Fora that the initial launch in Dublin city centre was “frustrating” but the new pilots will give him a chance to prove his service will not involve bikes clogging up the streets.

“From the council’s perspective, it gives them a chance to see how it’s working and gives them flexibility to end the service if it’s not working out. Equally, if the bikes aren’t being used we will relocate them somewhere else.

“There needs to be demand for this service and we’ll only know if demand is there in these villages in south Dublin in the next two to three months of the trial.”

bleeper BleeperBike BleeperBike

According to Cooney, he has also held discussions with a number of other councils across Ireland about introducing the stationless bikes.

“We will engage with them to see whether or not they want a bike service and whether the infrastructure exists there. We’re optimistic in the next month we’ll have one location in the west of Ireland.

“We want enough bike racks so the bikes can be parked. There are some areas where councils have said they are happy for it to happen, but they need to go in and put the bike racks in place before we launch.”

He said it’s important to have bike racks so they can create designated parking zones, which would make it harder for people to abuse the service by parking against lamp posts or railings.

Manoeuvring 

BleeperBike has six staff on its books at the moment and a fleet of 1,000 bikes. Some 150 of those bikes are out for public use as part of the Dublin pilot projects, and the remainder are in storage.

Cooney said the company has been bootstrapped so far using his savings. During the summer, €300,000 was invested in the company behind BleeperBike by its Irish holding company.

It has also secured investment from an international player in the bike-sharing industry, China’s YoBike. The Asian firm, which has operations in Sweden and Bristol, gave BleeperBike 500 bikes in return for a stake in the company.

Capture BleeperBike BleeperBike

Cooney said another opportunity he is currently exploring is partnerships with property developers.

In the past few weeks, BleeperBike has been approached by Dublin-based developers about doing deals to supply bikes at bike racks near properties located in areas that cannot avail of the Dublinbikes scheme, according to Cooney.

“Property developers want to provide people with connectivity to other modes of transport.

“So properties a long walking distance from nearby public transport will be our primary focus because we can’t estimate how long the city centre bye-laws will take.

“We have to make this business work on the assumption the laws could take 12 to 24 months.”

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Written by Killian Woods and posted on Fora.ie

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    Mute Sarah P
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    May 26th 2019, 8:55 PM

    Delighted for him!

    192
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    Mute Garreth Byrne
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    May 26th 2019, 9:54 PM

    Voters in Donegal have rewarded an honest old guy who never refused to help constituents. There is some honour in local politics.

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    Mute Logan Shepherd
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    May 26th 2019, 8:55 PM

    While I would rather see a younger person joining the fray, I have to say congrats. Must be doing something right for the people.

    145
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    Mute Brendan Barr
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    May 27th 2019, 12:16 AM

    Meanwhile a TD, encouraged by solicitors with close connections to her minister colleague, sues Hotel for not supervising swings. Then it emerges she was holding a bottle of wine when she fell! And is fit enough to run 10k in very respectable time 3 weeks later.
    When she drop the claim against hotel after total humiliation, she claims she only wanted her 7k medical fees repaid.

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    Mute stephen darling
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    May 26th 2019, 9:07 PM

    Shouldn’t be allowed. Any other job in the country you have to retire 65 / 67 tops . Politicians a law unto themselves. Vermin.

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    Mute Dave Ringer
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    May 26th 2019, 9:18 PM

    @stephen darling: no you don’t

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    Mute William Tallon
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    May 26th 2019, 9:20 PM

    @stephen darling: He didn’t break or bend any laws by putting himself forward as a candidate in the local election so why is he vermin? So long as he’s able to do the job, which the electorate obviously feel he can do then his age is irrelevant. You don’t suddenly become non compos mentis or vermin when you turn 65/67.

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    Mute Thomas Quinn
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    May 26th 2019, 9:28 PM

    @stephen darling: Ageist much Mr Darling? He is elected in a democracy. They want him there. Simple as. My Granny is 90 and would talk rings around most people and is an active member in her community. She organises school plays and Christmas events and recently set up a climate action group. Age is not a barrier to progress. A. Lozed mind is. Which I am afraid you appear to have sir or madame.

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    Mute Thomas Quinn
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    May 26th 2019, 9:30 PM

    @Thomas Quinn: *closed mind*

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    Mute Nicholas O'Halloran
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    May 26th 2019, 9:34 PM

    @stephen darling: s*ut up you t*t

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    Mute stephen darling
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    May 26th 2019, 9:34 PM

    @Thomas Quinn: age is certainly not a barrier unless you work as anything but a politician. And unless everyone on this article has been living in a cave for the last 10 years. All politicians are vermin as far as I’m concerned. Screwed the country screwed the people. Just because you get the occasional pot hole filled in doesn’t make you a great politician.

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    Mute stephen darling
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    May 26th 2019, 9:35 PM

    @Thomas Quinn: closed eyes

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    Mute stephen darling
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    May 26th 2019, 9:36 PM

    @Nicholas O’Halloran: you must be related

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    Mute stephen darling
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    May 26th 2019, 9:37 PM

    @William Tallon: you’re profile picture says it all . Banjos at the ready

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    Mute stephen darling
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    May 26th 2019, 9:40 PM

    @Dave Ringer: oh yes you do . Maybe a local GP might be an exception. But for every PAYE. worker it’s the pension

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    Mute sean o'dhubhghaill
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    May 26th 2019, 9:50 PM

    @stephen darling: Rubbish

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    Mute Thomas Quinn
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    May 26th 2019, 10:09 PM

    @stephen darling: Whatever closed mind. Politics just reflects society it does not shape it. Been that way since ancient Greece. You are just ageist. Democracy is a system. If there are 3 people in a room and 2 say I like eating poo and the other ays I don’t then eating poo is what happens. Yay democracy. The real problem is we need the people in the room to have integrity and intelligence.

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    Mute stephen darling
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    May 26th 2019, 10:18 PM

    @Thomas Quinn: politician shape society they approve the budgets and plans for the local community and the country as a hole . They create good and bad society’s with the funding THEY allocate. In other words it goes were they got the percentage of the vote to elect them in the first place .

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    Mute Niall Carry
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    May 26th 2019, 10:21 PM

    @stephen darling: vermin? That’s a fairly bitter opinion for a democratically elected local councillor in a region you don’t live in I’ll presume also. People made their choice. Sometimes we need a mix of old and young. All cultures have a respect for elders at some stage which has eroded but personally speaking as I hit my 30s my mentors in life have done it all and have a vast network of contacts in their lifetime. Good for him. Many self employed people work on past retirement age or work as consultant roles part time. Experience is invaluable look past exact guidelines and policies. Did you wait until 18th birthday to have your first alcoholic drink? To a tee

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    Mute William Tallon
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    May 26th 2019, 10:26 PM

    @stephen darling: Ah, your ageism is really showing now as is your immaturity when you have to resort to ‘ad hominem’ attacks. There were no banjos on that album by the way and that would be ‘your profile picture’…

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    Mute wormtubes
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    May 27th 2019, 12:21 AM

    @stephen darling: @ss

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    Mute Peter Hughes
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    May 26th 2019, 9:50 PM

    Between all the visits to the doctor for all the understandable age related issues at that age I wonder exactly what he will be able to achieve to be honest.

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    Mute Sega Yolo
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    May 27th 2019, 1:29 AM

    @Peter Hughes: so by the same criteria , pregnant women, disabled people, cancer sufferers etc should all be excluded? It’s not exactly a rigorous high performance job, it’s talking shop ffs.

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    Mute EillieEs
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    May 27th 2019, 3:44 AM

    @Peter Hughes: do you know his medical history? I’d be far more concerned about politicians less than half his age who need adult supervision to sit on a swing yet think they can represent their constituents.

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    Mute Ciarán FitzGerald
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    May 27th 2019, 9:50 AM

    @Peter Hughes: You’ve obviously never been at a meeting with the man… he has some energy.

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    Mute Padraig O'Goire
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    May 27th 2019, 10:56 AM

    @Peter Hughes: I don’t understand your statement? My dad is 88 and he sees the doctor once a year… Less than most young people

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    Mute William Kelly
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    May 27th 2019, 6:31 AM

    Hope I am as fit & well looking at 89.
    Must be the fresh air up there.
    Meanwhile, we in the big smoke choke & cough our way through diesel & petrol fumes.

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    Mute M Con
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    May 26th 2019, 9:37 PM

    Ridiculous

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    Mute Tony McCoy O'Grady
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    May 27th 2019, 1:34 PM

    Good for him.
    But, he appears to be magic.
    The headlines tells us he’s 89.
    The sub-head tells us he’ll turn 89 in July.
    That’s some trick – having a birthday and staying the same age.

    1
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