Vandalism costs soar and rentals drop as Belfast Bikes turns 10 years old, new figures reveal

The Belfast Bikes scheme will turn 10 years old next month but the past year has seen vandalism costs continue to increase while rental numbers have dropped.

The city's public bicycle rental scheme launched on April 27, 2015, with 300 bikes and 30 docking stations, offering a low-cost, convenient way to travel around the city. The aim was to encourage cycling for commuting, leisure, and community activities, promoting healthier lifestyles while also reducing car usage.

Fast forward 10 years and there are currently over 50 docking stations and over 400 bikes linking up the city.

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Belfast City Council has revealed that bike rentals dropped to 123,386 in 2024 while vandalism costs hit £37,909. The year before the annual vandalism cost was £34,686 while the total number of Belfast Bikes rentals stood at 119,135.

The council was responding to a Freedom of Information request from Belfast Live and said 2021 was an exceptional year for several of its assets including the Belfast Bikes scheme with 236,570 rentals and a £17,758 bill due to incidents of vandalism. Following this, the council says the scheme has returned to more typical usage for the type and age of the scheme with 158,843 rentals recorded in 2022..

Only the earlier Covid-19 lockdown of 2020 saw lower numbers, with 44,244 rentals made while vandalism that year amounted to £3,852.

A BCC spokesperson told us: “The Council remains committed to investing in Belfast Bikes, which contribute to a number of outcomes in the Belfast Agenda community plan.

“Current usage figures reflect typical levels for a scheme of this type and age, although both new registrations and rentals have increased following the appointment of a new sponsor in June 2024.”

They added: “Unfortunately, all public bike hire scheme operators in the UK experience vandalism. While the introduction of new bikes in 2021 with more advanced technology, including GPS tracking, has led to decreases in thefts, the cost of replacement parts has also increased. Proactive measures to reduce vandalism include ongoing community engagement, regular checks in ‘hot spot’ areas and the temporary removal of bikes from areas where there are higher levels of vandalism.”

The total number of Belfast Bikes rentals per calendar year

The annual vandalism cost payable by Belfast City Council

Responding to the findings, a spokesperson for the walking, wheeling, and cycling charity, Sustrans, said: “We congratulate all involved on the 10th anniversary of the Belfast Bikes scheme. We welcome the fact that the number of docking stations has doubled during that time although it is disappointing to note the recurring vandalism. It is good to see the efforts that have been made to tackle this.

“The availability of Belfast Bikes is great for the city but everyone’s experience would be enhanced with better infrastructure providing safe, segregated cycle lanes. Unfortunately, in the decade since the Belfast Bikes has expanded, we haven’t seen this matched by delivery of the Belfast Cycling Network.

“According to the Belfast Walking and Cycling Index there are just 2 miles of protected cycle lanes in the city, a figure that hasn’t changed in five years."

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