New bike hire scheme for Athlone and Mullingar to be launched next week

A new app-based bicycle hire scheme for Athlone and Mullingar will be launched next week, Westmeath County Council has announced.

The pilot scheme, which was first mooted last autumn, will see 30 bikes being made available across 10 locations in each town.

Promotional launches of the scheme will take place in Mullingar next Wednesday afternoon (April 20) and outside Athlone Castle at 11am on Thursday next.

The "very distinctive" bikes will then be available for use by the public from Monday, April 25, the council said.

The company Moby Bikes Ireland was contracted by the council to operate the scheme.

The council said Moby had been operating since 2019 and ran the Dublin electric bike hire scheme, while also having "a footprint in London, Utrecht, Singapore and New York."

The local authority said the scheme was the first of its kind in Westmeath and was "a very exciting development" for the county.

"It will help to reduce the amount of short car journeys around the town, which in turn will help to reduce the carbon footprint of both towns," said the council in a press statement today.

"It will also give people flexibility to get around the towns with ease. The bikes will be robust and easy to cycle for all abilities. The app makes it very easy and convenient to hire a bike at short notice. It also provides another option for visitors to the town."

In order to use the service, people will need to download the Moby Bike App on their device and to register their details, including payment details.

"The app will tell the customer where the nearest bike available to hire is located. The app will unlock the bike for the customer. The customer can then use the bike for as long as required," said the council.

When returning the bicycle to one of the stations on the app, people will be asked to press 'return bike' on the app and to then upload a photo of the bike locked in position.

"This ends the journey and the hire time is charged to the customer's card," the council said.

No details were immediately available on the ten locations where the bikes would be situated in each town, or on the cost to the public of using the bikes.

Westmeath County Council's Cathaoirleach, Cllr Frankie Keena, said the bike hire scheme would be of "major benefit" to Athlone and Mullingar.

"It will encourage people to get out of the car and use these bikes for the short journey throughout both towns.

"It will also be of major benefit to our tourism industry and will greatly assist in attracting tourists to the area. I welcome the fact that the bikes will be on the streets within days," he said.