Bolt station in Portlaoise disabled after bikes destroyed
The Bolt parking station on the Ballyfin road, Portlaoise had to be disabled after two e-bikes were vandalised. File image
A BOLT bike station in Portlaoise had to be deactivated, after two bicycles were vandalised beyond repair.
One electric bike was destroyed and thrown into a ditch, in what was the second such incident at the parking station on the Ballyfin road.
As a result of the destruction, the station had to be disabled just a year after it was installed.
The vandalism has marred what is otherwise a success story for the climate-friendly travel service, which was introduced in Portlaoise on 31 July last year as a collaboration between Laois Co Council, the National Transport Authority and e-bike company Bolt.
A presentation on the scheme’s first year of operation, given at a meeting of Portlaoise Municipal District this week, shows that 50 e-bikes are available at 48 parking stations around the town, covering an area of 23sq.kms.
Council director of services Simon Walton said the N80 Ballyfin road station had to be disabled, after an e-bike was destroyed on 19 June.
He said: “That was disappointing and it was the second incident at this particular location. As a result, that parking location has been disabled and the incident was reported to gardaí.” The review also showed that well over one in 10 people were not allowed to unlock the e-bikes, after failing the cognitive user test that stops intoxicated people trying to cycle home.
Mr Walton said the system recorded 13.3% in “lost orders”, where people were not allowed to use an e-bike after failing the cognitive test that operates between 10pm and 5am. He said it could often be the case that people thought they were okay to cycle after a few drinks but the test indicated otherwise.
The GPS-controlled system imposes maximum speeds in particular areas, with a 15kph top speed on Main Street.
The review revealed that there were 2,737 unique users in the first year of operation and the vast majority were locals at 91%, with tourists making up 9%. Each bike averages 1.58 trips a day.
The busiest start/end locations were the train station and then Kilminchy, followed by the roundabout at Chestnut Grove/Colliers Lane.
There were 32,600 individual trips covering almost 69,300km, with an average trip distance of 2.15km.
Mr Walton said that the council contributes €30,000 annually to the e-bike service, which will be reviewed in a year’s time.
