Dublin (Ireland):
smarter cycling starts with smarter parking
Dublin is a fast-growing capital where cycling is becoming an increasingly important part of everyday mobility. As more people choose bicycles and cargo bikes for commuting and deliveries, managing parking efficiently becomes essential for making active travel both convenient and attractive.
Within NEXTLOGIC, Dublin develops a data-driven approach to bike parking management, combining Digital Twin technologies, immersive visualisation tools and behavioural incentives. The pilot explores how real-time information can improve infrastructure planning, optimise the use of public space and encourage more sustainable mobility choices across the city.
A growing city with changing mobility needs
Dublin continues to invest in active mobility while experiencing increasing pressure on its transport infrastructure and public space. The rapid growth of cycling, together with the wider adoption of e-bikes and cargo bikes, creates new challenges for parking management, infrastructure planning and user experience.
Previous initiatives have demonstrated the potential of digital mobility solutions, but city authorities still need better information about where, when and how cycling infrastructure is used. Reliable, real-time data can help identify demand patterns, improve planning decisions and make better use of existing space without requiring unnecessary new infrastructure.
NEXTLOGIC builds on this context by bringing together digital technologies, user participation and behavioural approaches within a single pilot.
The NEXTLOGIC pilot
The Dublin pilot focuses on the development of a Smart Bike Parking Digital Twin (SBPDT), designed to support more efficient management of cycling infrastructure throughout the city.
Building on experience gained through previous innovation projects, the pilot integrates multiple sources of information into a Digital Twin environment capable of monitoring bike parking occupancy in real time, analysing historical trends and simulating future scenarios.
The system combines sensor technologies, including AI-powered cameras, with user-generated information to provide a comprehensive picture of parking demand. Real-time occupancy data can then be shared through external mobility applications, allowing cyclists to identify available parking spaces before reaching their destination.
Alongside the Digital Twin, the pilot develops immersive visualisation tools and behavioural incentives that encourage responsible parking behaviour while improving the overall user experience.
Digital tools and logistics solutions
The Dublin pilot combines several NEXTLOGIC technologies to create a smarter approach to cycling infrastructure management.
Digital Twin
The Smart Bike Parking Digital Twin integrates real-time sensor information, historical data and simulation capabilities into a single digital environment. It supports infrastructure planning, operational monitoring and evidence-based decision-making while allowing different parking scenarios to be tested before implementation.
eXtended Reality (XR)
Immersive visualisation tools help users interact with parking information in a more intuitive way by providing real-time guidance and supporting stakeholder engagement during the development of future mobility solutions
Incentives and reward mechanisms
Behavioural incentives encourage responsible bike parking and support more sustainable mobility choices. By combining digital engagement with reward mechanisms, the pilot investigates how user behaviour can contribute to improving parking availability and making cycling more convenient for everyone.
Expected impact
The Dublin pilot demonstrates how digital technologies can support cities in managing cycling infrastructure more effectively while improving everyday mobility. How?
- Developing a Digital Twin for smart bike parking management
- Improving understanding of parking demand and occupancy patterns
- Optimising the allocation and management of bike parking infrastructure
- Providing real-time information that supports cyclists in finding available parking spaces
- Encouraging more sustainable mobility behaviour through incentives and user engagement
- Generating practical knowledge that can support replication in other European cities
NEXTLOGIC mixes technology with behavioural insights. Dublin contributes to making cycling a more reliable, attractive and accessible transport option while helping cities manage increasingly complex mobility systems.
Contacts
Interested in the Dublin pilot? For more information about the local activities, demonstration site, or opportunities to collaborate, please get in touch with the NEXTLOGIC partners coordinating the pilot.
Boris Tomas
Pilot lead
Discover the other pilot cities
Dublin is just one of eight European Mission Cities demonstrating the NEXTLOGIC approach. Discover how the other pilot cities are developing and testing complementary solutions for smarter, greener and more efficient urban mobility and logistics.