An inspiring success story, the dublinbikes initiative has greatly increased bicycle use in Dublin.
There are plenty of advantages to cycling your daily commute. Bikes are cheaper than cars to purchase, operate, and maintain. They don’t take up so much darn space, which in a city is a big deal, and they don’t do all that pumping of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere and harmful gasses into the city air that internal combustion engines do.
Bike sharing makes a lot of sense, too. You might cycle to work, but you’re not going to need a bike while you’re in the office. Someone else may as well use that bike during that time. If you just rent a bike when you need one you don’t have to worry as much about storing it or it getting stolen and, the kicker, you’re not responsible for maintenance.
Dublin is not alone in boosting bicycle use. Many cities in the US are embracing bike sharing and seeing benefits.