Coca-Cola To Sponsor Belfast's Public Bike Share Scheme

Coca-Cola HBC Northern Ireland has been announced as the sponsor for Belfast's public bike share scheme.

The £300,000 sponsorship deal over three years was unveiled today by the Lord Mayor, Councillor Nichola Mallon, and Regional Development Minister Danny Kennedy MLA at Belfast City Hall, together with Frank O'Donnell, general manager of Coca Cola HBC for Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Due to start in April, the scheme will be operated by NSL Services and the first phase will use 300 cycles and 30 docking stations positioned across the city centre – from the Odyssey Arena to Bradbury Place, from Millfield to Central Station and the Gasworks.

The scheme is aimed at commuters, shoppers, students and visitors taking short journeys across the city, with journeys of less than 30 minutes free of charge.

The public bike share scheme has been taken forward as part of Belfast City Council's Investment Programme 2012-2015. The Department for Regional Development will provide funding of £1.1m which will go towards the development of docking stations and bicycles and the Council will provide ongoing financial support during the next six years to manage the scheme.

Lord Mayor Nichola Mallon said: "We are very excited about launching the Coca-Cola Zero Belfast Bikes scheme this Spring and welcoming Coca-Cola HBC Northern Ireland as our partners.

"Thanks to the sponsorship, we will be able to provide this fantastic new addition to Belfast's infrastructure at a very low cost to users. By keeping down the price of both the annual membership and the hire charges, we are hoping people in Belfast will embrace the benefits of cycling around the city to go about their day to day business.

"Whether it's a quick dash to a meeting, lunch with friends or a shopping trip across town, these bikes will be a superb addition to the city's transport links and a further enhancement to its tourism offering.

"We pledged – as part of our Investment Programme for the city – to explore and invest in projects which would develop our infrastructure, and also deliver benefits for neighbourhoods across Belfast. The bike scheme is a perfect example of this – not only will the scheme enhance connectivity across the city and encourage people to use and enjoy more of our assets, such as the Lagan Towpath and the National Cycle Network, but it will also support tourism and our wider economy."

(CD/JP)