The Bike Library project is funded by the NTA’s Active Travel Programme and will be led by UCD’s School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy.
Hundreds of families are set to experience the benefits that come from trialling a cargo bike for their daily commute to and from school, as part of a new partnership between the National Transport Authority and University College Dublin (UCD) which will see the introduction of 20 new “Bike Libraries” at primary schools across the Dublin City. The Bike Library project will give families the opportunity to borrow either an e-bike, cargo bike or foldable bike for a set period during the school term at no charge. This will allow them to experience using these bikes before having to decide to buy one; “try before you buy”. The aim of the project is to encourage families to make a permanent modal shift to sustainable travel for their daily commutes.
The initial ten schools including the Assumption Senior GNS in Walkinstown will take part in the Bike Library project in the Spring/Summer term this year. This will be followed by the second tranche of schools in the new academic year in September (for a period of 3 months). The bikes are provided and managed by UCD with the project supported by the National Transport Authority’s Active Travel Programme.
The founder of the Bike Library project, Professor Francesco Pilla, who is a Professor and Chair of Smart and Sustainable Cities at UCD, established Irelands first Bike Library in September of last year when he piloted the project at a school in Harold’s Cross. Following phenomenal demand for the bike libraries throughout other primary schools in the Dublin City Area, Professor Pilla has joined forces with the National Transport Authority’s Active Travel team in a bid to roll it out to other schools.
