E-scooter ban puts promised bike and electric car rental hubs on ice

THE GOVERNMENT HAS stalled its long-promised plans to roll out shared mobility hubs, which would include bike and electric car-sharing facilities, across the country because they included e-scooters. 

The decision to pause the promised green transport schemes for areas including Cork city and south county Dublin has been criticised by sustainable transport activists who said it is a “step backwards”.

Pilot schemes in five locations had been approved, but funding to all public e-scooter schemes has now been paused and is under review, the Department of Transport has confirmed.

In a statement, the department said that in light of this development, it is now necessary to “reevaluate the pilot’s business case”.

It said the National Transport Authority will engage with participating local authorities as the review progresses and when there is “greater clarity” on the “future direction” of the pilot.

The pilots were approved to begin in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, Cork city, Carlow town, Dundalk and Sligo and would have included pay-as-you-go access to bikes, e-bikes, e-scooters, e-cargo bikes, and electric vehicles.

The scheme, which is being funded by the Climate Action Fund, would have contributed towards reduced congestion, improved air quality and lower transport-related emissions.

First proposed by former climate minister Eamon Ryan, the pilot hubs were originally expected to begin operating in 2024. Ryan had dubbed them “one of the most important projects” to be rolled out that year.

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Following the general election in 2024 and the Greens’ removal from government, the hubs remained a pledge in the Fianna Fáil/Fine Gael/Regional Independents’ programme for government, which was published in early 2025. 

It commits to: “Establish mobility hubs in each local authority area, offering integrated transport services like bike and scooter sharing, EV charging, car sharing, and carpooling.”

Reacting to the Department’s decision to review the rollout of the pilots, Green Party leader and TD Roderic O’Gorman said it was being stalled on a “totally spurious basis”.

“Yet again, this government is trying to unpick and undermine any action to make it easier for people to cycle,” he said.

“If they have a genuine concern about e-scooters, then leave them out of the hubs.

“But don’t cancel the benefits of shared bike schemes, shared cargo bikes, etc, that these hubs will promote.”

The decision comes after the government announced a clampdown on e-scooters earlier this week in response to a rise in accidents involving them.  

Data from Children’s Health Ireland and the HSE indicated a concerning pattern of serious and life-changing injuries caused by e-scooters, with admissions for traumatic brain injuries from e-scooter accidents increased by 50% in the last 12 months.

Reacting to the news that shared mobility hubs will be further delayed, Jason Cullen of the Dublin Commuters Coalition told The Journal: 

“To see the bike share scheme being delayed because of government overreaction to the illegal uses of these e-scooters is just another in an ongoing list of frustrations and disappointments by this government when it comes to transport.”

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