Mayo councillor's car lost a wing mirror after being hit by Lime bike

A Castlebar councillor who claimed that the wing-mirror on her car was taken off by a person on a Lime bike fears a serious accident will occur unless measures are taken.

Fine Gael councillor Donna Sheridan told the monthly meeting of Mayo County Council that she would like to see tweaks to the way Lime bikes operate in Castlebar after hearing of incidents of the bikes causing damage to parked cars.

Lime is the world’s largest shared electric vehicle company providing e-bike and scooters. Castlebar was the first town in Ireland to have access to Lime e-bikes when they were introduced on a pilot scheme in September 2022.

The pilot scheme was in a partnership with Mayo County Council which saw 100 bikes available from a number of locations in the town. The scheme was deemed a phenomenal success and was rolled out into Westport the following year.

However, there have been safety concerns raised regarding the bike scheme which Cllr Sheridan has raised in the past.

“They are a brilliant asset to the town but they are causing some issues,” she told last week's monthly meeting.

READ MORE: Lime e-bike and scooter operator hit milestone in Mayo

High speed

“They are going around at high speed with no recourse for road users and cars being damaged. You see a lot of people on Lime bikes with no helmets on and this is going to cause a serious accident at some stage. While they are a great resource to the town and a lot of people use them and I don't mean to be negative at all, there are some tweaks which are needed to make sure everyone is safe.”

Cllr Sheridan, who completed her term as Cathaoirleach of Castlebar Municipal District, said that her wing mirror was taken off her car by a person on a Lime bike and when she contacted the company to report it she did not get a reply. She said that the company can be difficult for the general public to contact and called for an improvement to their customer service.