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Do we live behind the moon? We want Electric Scooters!

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Do we live behind the moon? We want Electric Scooters!

I mentioned last week that I was in San Diego recently and I totally appreciated the easy availability of the Uber service, something we are sorely missing in Ireland, just because the National Transport Authority is protecting the Taxi Cartel here for no good reason.

And there is another great thing that San Diego (and many other cities on the USA) offer that falls under the headline of “transport” and that we are still missing in Ireland. San Diego has electric scooters everywhere that can be rented for short trips by anyone via a simple app. There are thousands of scooters everywhere and all you need is register with the service provider (Lime or Bird), download an app and then pay a $1 release charge per trip and 15 cent per minute of a rental charge.

If you use the scooter for a long time, it can get expensive: A 1 hour usage will cost a total of $10. But at 15 miles per hour and with a reach of about 30 miles, you can could certainly cover quite a distance in that hour. In addition, the main target seems to be relatively short trips of closer to 10 minutes than an hour. And for that, using a scooter is a fun way to get from A to B. All this is hugely helped by the fact that you can park the scooter at any street corner (as long as it doesn’t obstruct), so it doesn’t have to be brought to a specific base (unlike the Dublin Bikes, for example).

I zipped around a little and it was a lot of fun!

In Dublin we lately see more and more people commuting on Electric Scooters (which they own), but unfortunately using a scooter in Ireland is still illegal and there are currently NO plans in the in the Department of Transport to look into “Personal Electric Mobility Vehicles” (PMV or PEM). We really do seem to live behind the moon!

Electric mobility is looking like the BIG change to our transport system in the future and I mentioned recently that by 2020, the Irish Government would like to have 20,000 electric cars on Irish streets (but will probably fall way short of that). If electric vehicles is the future, then it is high time to start looking at other electric vehicles as well.

Dublin, Elsewhere, Traffic, , , , , , ,

Dublin Edition of Monopoly

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Dublin Edition of Monopoly

There has been a Dublin Edition of Monopoly since the 70s, but a brand new edition has been revealed and there are some changes to the previous version. Originally Ailesbury Road in Dublin 4 (not Aylesbury in Tallaght!) was the top spot, this has changed and now the top place is the GPO. Ailesbury Road’s reputation as the most exclusive area has indeed gone down in recent years, but the GPO as the top spot is not necessarily a good replacement!

And for some odd reason, Molly Malone is the cheapest place in Dublin according to the new Monopoly. This is also incorrect, Molly Malone is neither in a dodgy nor a cheap neighbourhood.

It seems that the creators of the new Monopoly tried to pack as many Dublin locations onto the board irrespective of their fit! Monopoly always differentiated between expensive and cheap, but if all places that have a high recognition factor are in expensive areas, then some incorrect categorisation is bound to happen.

Do mistakes like that dilute the Monopoly message? I think so! But imagine a really poor area of Dublin had been chosen for the lowest priced field? People in that area wouldn’t be too impressed!

RTE writes about the new game here.

Dublin, Economy, Odd, Society, , ,

We want Uber!!

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
We want Uber!!

Last week I was in San Diego for 10 days for a training course (and a couple of days holidays added to the end). I had originally planned to use day passes on public transport to get around, but it turned out that the websites painted a nicer picture of the public transport system than it was in reality and it started at the airport when the “promised” facility to buy their equivalent of a LEAP card could just not be found.

So right after arrival we had to change our plans and the options were either Taxi or Uber. The distance from the airport was about 8 miles. With a taxi that would be $24, with Uber it was $16. Not a bad start! And it just continued like that! We did about 10 Uber Trips altogether and had not a single bad experience. All drivers were extremely friendly, some were chatty, some not. All drove well and responsible and all had other jobs and only did a few hours of Uber driving per day or per week. Not once did we have to wait longer than 4 minutes until we were picked up and not once did a driver take “the scenic route” or tried to use any other trick to increase the fare (because they can’t!!).

If you don’t know how Uber operates let me explain it briefly: Uber drivers are private car owners who only need their mobile phone to become an Uber driver. When you book an Uber trip, the customer specifies the start and end point on an app and is told the full price in advance (the driver can’t change it and there are NO surcharges). The app for the driver is a SatNav system and tells the driver exactly how to get to the destination, so the driver just needs to follow the instructions. At the end of the trip you don’t pay by cash or card, instead the app sorts out all payments from your credit card to the driver. So you thank the driver and leave the car. A completely cashless system.

It is just brilliant! BUT we don’t have it and if the National Transport Authority (NTA) is not reigned in soon, they will not allow us to have Uber. Why? Because they are protecting the overpriced and regulated Taxi business. Taxis are outdated and Taxi regulation is harming, not helping customers.

You might say/think that we have Uber in Ireland, but it is a bastardised version of the proper Uber. In Ireland only licensed Taxi drivers are allowed to transport passengers for money, so Uber is just the middle man that connects you with a taxi driver via the app. It has some features of the proper Uber system because you make the contact by app, but the app doesn’t tell you what the price will be and the price is NO different than the normal taxi price. So, Uber in Ireland is not Uber and that is all thanks to the National Transport Authority (NTA).

I think the idea of Uber is brilliant and – without a doubt – it will be the private transport model that will outlive the regulated taxi industry. And in a few years we will look back and wonder “Why, oh Why did we stick to this completely outdated taxi model for such a long time when we easily could have moved to a more modern model?” Yep, I Know, it sometimes feels like living behind the moon! :-O

Dublin, Elsewhere, Traffic, , , ,

Bad News for the College Green Plaza

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
Bad News for the College Green Plaza

Dublin City had planned to pedestrianise the College Green area from the TCD front to approx. where H&M and Starbucks are and turn this new City Centre Plaza into a public amenity. (An article is here.) It would have been the first and only City Centre event space and in my opinion it is the perfect location for a PROPER Christmas Market in Dublin.

But the planning authority, An Bord Pleanala, was not in favour of it because it would have a negative effect on traffic and would cause unacceptable conflicts between cyclists and pedestrians.

At the moment College Green can only be used by buses and taxis and getting taxis out of this area would – in my opinion – be a good thing.

By the way: The only chance a Christmas Market has in Dublin if it a) is in a central location and b) is organised and run by Dublin City, NOT an event management company and definitely not by DublinTown.

The next steps that Dublin City will take regarding this, have not been revealed yet.

Dublin City Council, Tourism, Traffic, , ,

New Dublin City Library at Parnell Square

Written by Joerg Steegmueller
New Dublin City Library at Parnell Square

Dublin will get a new library and the days of the old one in ILAC Centre are numbered. The new location will be on Parnell Square just next to the Hugh Lane Gallery and the final plans have been submitted to An Bord Pleanala. If all goes according to plan, the library will be finished in 2023.

It is a big project, for which 5 (not so nice) Georgian Buildings will get sacrificed. The former Colaiste Mhuire is part of the buildings that will be redeveloped (or replaced). There are some interesting pictures of the new library in the article in TheJournal.ie here. It looks very pretty and impressive, but that also raises a big question: Does a new library have to look pretty? Or should functionality not take priority?

Have a look at the third picture that shows MASSIVE, not I am talking about M A S S I V E concrete pillars inside the building and a LOT of empty and unusable space. the few little book shelves. I would have the distribution to be the other way around.

Is it expensive, I hear you asking? How does 100 mio sound to you? Lot of concrete, you know! ;-) Dublin City says they will have to pay not more than 45 mio and will magically get the rest from philanthropy.

Dublin City Council,
 
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