'You will end up in a hospital' Portlaoise cyclist argues against Bolt E-bike spending

A Laois resident who has cycled all his life in Portlaoise, says it is now too dangerous to cycle in despite new cycle lanes, and is critical of the money spent on the eco E-bike rental scheme.

Paul Ponsioen has cycled some 25,000 km over the years in Portlaoise, but now says it's too dangerous, and will not get back in the saddle until roads are safer.

"I cycled all my life. I have done over a thousand kilometers per year here in this town for 25 years. Trained my kids to do same. I gave it up last year. The infra for cycling has gone so bad," he told the Leinster Express / Laois Live, responding to a recent article about vandalism and costs of the Portlaoise E-bike scheme.

He used to be more hopeful of a bicycle friendly town.

"25 years ago I was saying: a matter of time; Ireland is just ‘behind’. Now I say: Only when there is a full independent cycling infrastructure in place from every estate, I will think of going back on the bike.

"Driving a car, you will just get car damage and the insurance will sort it in a few months. On a bike, you will end up in a hospital and, sure, we all know what that results to...," Mr Ponsioen said.

"This link that is being made to the ‘low carbon project’ in the town is a farce. Cycling in the town has become so dangerous and unpractical over the years. An obstacle course really, due to all roundabouts and lack of standards for cycling lanes. Push-bikes are way cheaper and do a much better job for health and road safety," he suggests.

Paul said there are more indirect costs to the rental scheme.

"Due to lack of infrastructure, footpaths are now taken over by these e-bikes. This is a huge price to pay for pedestrians, who are now in increased stress of going about their own business," he said.

He makes an interesting point on speed of the bikes, which have a cut off speed of 25km/hour.

"The ‘pay-per-minute’ promotes bike users to go faster to save costs. Doing 25km/hour on a footpath around town is very dangerous.

"Most of e-bike users do not follow the rules of the road which leads to less respect for all cyclists from other road users. This increases aggression and dangers on the roads over all.

"Is there a target of having full independent infrastructure for cycling in Portlaoise? Cycling in this town is only for the happy-few and that will, most of all, not change the growth of car use. The town is growing all the time and so is the number of cars on the road.

"In my opinion there is a lack of knowledge, experience and action for support of active travelers in this town. This e-bike project works as a ‘smoke screen’ for the councillors to cover their inability to create a proper infrastructure for us all as a whole. The south circular road as an example of what ‘not to do’," the local man claims.

"Here are my thoughts as an ex-cyclist in this town. The council says the scheme is a success. My question is what are the targets they have set? Where does the €35,000 of tax money annually go to?

"From my own experience an average speed of 15 km/hour is realistic. This equals to about 80 cent/km for the user to hire an e-bike. The subsidies from the council converted to the 70 bikes annually is €500 per bike, 50 cent/km of bike use.

"That works out at €1.30/km for the e-bike use. In effect, a trip from Kilminchy down town or to the train station is about 3km. ‘Direct costs’ add up to €4 on an e-bike for this trip. That works out at €8 for a daily commute to the train station from Kilminchy. Of this, €3 is paid by the tax payer," he said.

Read also: Quarter of a million passengers catch the Portlaoise Town bus

Laois County Council launched the Bolt E-bike scheme 18 months ago as an eco friendly scheme by the National Transport Authority, to entice people out of cars and make it easier and healthier to get around the town's road network. 

Some 70 bicycles were bought and currently there are 56 in operation, parked at locations around the town and available to rent by App users.