THE Dublinbikes scheme is expanding again with 15 new docking stations, most on the Northside, due to come into service next April.
At least 100 new bicycles will also be available at the stations, 13 of which are in Dublin 7 and the north inner city.
Three of the stations will be in Grangegorman Lower while Rathdown, Charleville and Phibsborough Roads will also benefit.
The three other Dublin 7 stations will be at George’s Lane, Western Way and Avondale Road.
Closer to town, there will be stations at North Circular Road in Drumcondra, Mountjoy Square East, Killarney Street and Buckingham Street Lower.
The two Southside stations are at Merrion Square South and Wilton Terrace.
Construction on what will be the third phase of the Dublin Bikes expansion scheme, is due to begin this week with the Northside stations being built first.
Dublin City Council runs the dublinbikes scheme with Just Eat delivery service the current sponsor of the project.
Last August the council announced that the partnership would allow for the expansion.
Introduced in 2009, an estimated 20 million Dublinbike journeys have been taken by cyclists in the city, making it one of the most successful bike schemes in the world.
Business group Dublin Chamber last week welcomed news of the expansion.
The Chamber said the decision to install 15 new stations would help continue progress in getting more people to cycle in Dublin.
“The Dublinbikes scheme has proven phenomenally successful since it was launched,” said Head of Public Affairs Graeme McQueen.
“Progress on expanding has been far too slow over the past nine years, but it is encouraging to see areas such as Grangegorman and Phibsboro being brought into the network.
“It is vital that funding is allocated to continue to grow the network further over the coming months and years. Currently just four per cent of journeys into central Dublin are made by bike.
“We'd like to see that figure grow substantially over the next few years. The further expansion of Dublinbikes – beyond the two canals – and also continued investment in safer cycling infrastructure, will be key to achieving that growth."
“Dublin Bikes has proven to be pivotal in encouraging people to make the switch to cycling, with many of the scheme's users ultimately going on to buy their own bike and cycling on a more regular basis.
“Getting more people to cycle can ultimately help ease Dublin's congestion problem and there are obvious health benefits too."