From next week, users of bike-sharing scheme Dublinbikes will be able to release a bike by using their smartphone, among other service improvements.

Dublinbikes is migrating to a new platform from next Tuesday, 19 January, which will see the launch of a new app and a refresh of the current website.

The new and more user-friendly app is part of a series of developments planned over the next three years, to modernise the popular bike-sharing scheme.

Six-digit pin

Current four-digit pin numbers will also move to a six-digit format. Scheme users are asked to add ‘00’ to the end of their current pin when taking out a bike or accessing the system from 19 January.

The introduction of the new app will coincide with the launch of a new three-year commercial partnership between Dublinbikes and NOW TV, which includes the streaming service taking the naming rights.

Dublin City Council and scheme sponsors JCDecaux announced the deal late last year.

From next week, all Dublinbikes will carry the brand across the bicycle fleet and all associated inventory.

The new official NOW TV Dublinbikes app can be downloaded on the App Store and Google Play from 19 January.

Leap

Users may also associate a TFI Leap Card with Dublinbikes, enabling new and existing members to use the services with just one smartcard, which holds registration details for both schemes.

A Dublinbikes annual subscription now costs €35. The service launched in 2009 at a yearly cost of €10.

The scheme current has 66,416 subscribers and is considered one of the most successful in Europe, with 3.8 million journeys in 2019, and a cumulative figure of 29.5 million journeys since launch.

A full 96% of journeys are free, lasting under 30 minutes, with an average duration of 16 minutes per journey.