Bike Hire Scheme has now expanded to Moate area

Rebekah O'Reilly

The public bike hire scheme in Athlone has now expanded to Moate.

Bikes are now available for hire opposite the church on Moate's Main Street.

Westmeath County Council said it extended the bike hire scheme to Moate after information gathered showed that many of the bikes rented in Athlone were being used by people to travel to Moate.

Ambrose Clarke Director of Services at Westmeath County Council said: “We have a bike scheme in Athlone, and information we have shows that a lot of the bikes were being taken to Moate along the greenway. We thought it might be useful to have bikes in Moate.”

When asked by the Westmeath Independent about how many bikes will be available the new bike rack in Moate, he said: “The aim is to have two bikes minimum available in Moate at any time.”

The extension of the bike scheme to Moate is a pilot programme which aims to see whether or not there is a demand for rental bikes in the town.

The distribution of the bikes is controlled by the contractor, who is able to see how many bikes are available at each location.

The app-based bike hire scheme in Athlone is currently being operated by an Irish company, Moby Bikes, on behalf of the council, with the cost of hiring a bike priced at €1 per hour, up to a maximum of €16 per use.

In Athlone, some 30 bikes are available at 10 locations including: the entrance to Athlone Marina; Athlone Civic Centre; Golden Island Shopping Centre; Dublingate Street; St Mary's Church; Garrycastle greenway entrance; and Athlone Regional Sports Centre.

A new location has also recently been added at the junction of Mardyke Street opposite St Mary's Square.