Dublinbikes is a bicycle sharing system where bikes are available at a number of automated bike stations around Dublin, Ireland. The bikes can be used for 30 minutes for free and can be rented for longer trips. They can be returned to any bike station, handy for point to point trips. The bikes and supporting infrastructure are provided at not cost to the city of Dublln by France's JC Decaux, the maker of the famous Paris Sanisette automatic self cleaning toilets. In return for the bikes, Decaux is allowed to install a specified number of outdoor advertising signs and kiosks. It's a nice idea, helping to decrease traffic congestion and carbon emissions as well as encouraging a healthier lifestyle. For users it provides a convenient alternative to driving or public transit and seems generally well received .
One problem with the bike sharing system is that each station has spaces for a fixed number of bikes. When all the spaces are full bikes can not be returned to that station. To help solve that problem, dotMobi's Ronan Cremin developed dublinbikes.mobi, a mashup of Google Maps and data from the official Dublinbikes Website. It displays the availability of bikes and bike parking spaces at all of Dublin's bike stations on a map of the city. Users find a nearby bike to use at the start of a trip and an open bike station to drop it off near their destination.