PUBLIC TRANSPORT

All Photographs Supplied By William Murphy

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DUBLINBIKES DOCKING STATION 03 AT BOLTON STREET COLLEGE

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THE SUNLIGHT WAS INTENSE TODAY

As I walked along Capel Street towards I was blinded by the sunlight.

When I returned home I was a bit exhausted a somewhat lazy so decided to ask Google’s AI known as Bard [name changed to Gemini a few days ago] about Dublinbikes and after a number of attempts to get accurate information I eventually get the following: “I apologize, I made a mistake in my previous information about Dublinbikes. You are correct, there are not 600 docking stations. As of today, February 12, 2024, there are actually 115 Dublinbikes docking stations operating in the city. My information was outdated and I appreciate you pointing out the error. Is there anything else you’d like to know about Dublinbikes? I’d be happy to provide accurate and up-to-date information.”

Google explained the reasons for the name change as follows: ” “For us, Gemini is our approach overall in terms of how we are building our most capable and safe AI model and Bard was the most direct way that people could interact with our models so it really made sense to just evolve it to be Gemini because you are talking directly to the underlying Gemini model when you use it.” Does this actually explain anything?

HANOVER QUAY EAST DOCKING STATION 117 AT THE AIRBNB WAREHOUSE HQ BUILDING REF-225479-1

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THERE IS ANOTHER STATION AROUND THE CORNER ON BENSON STREET

For some unknown reason there is no number plate identify this docking station so I decided to explore the user interface and it showed the location as being Station 117 at East Hanover Quay. There is another docking station very close by on Benson Street.

Housed in one of the last remaining warehouse buildings that were so characteristic of the Dublin Dockands, the new EMEA headquarters building for Airbnb is designed as a workspace for 400 people.

Hanover Quay forms the north boundary of the extensive L-shaped docks that terminated the Grand Canal, next to the mouth of the River Dodder. Constructed between 1757 and 1796, the Grand and Royal canals encircle Dublin city centre and provide navigable waterway connections between the Liffey and Shannon rivers. Despite construction of these deep-water docks, ships continued to berth on the Liffey quays and, with the decline of the Grand Canal, the associated docks followed suit.

Despite alterations to the adjacent quays, the calp limestone walls are retained, in addition to other salient features. The scale and quality of construction of the quay and docks are testament to the ambitions of the Grand Canal Company. It forms an important part of the city’s industrial heritage and is an important reminder of the heyday of the canal era, prior to its demise following the arrival of the railway. The district is now largely redeveloped, focusing on the Grand Canal Theatre.

DUBLINBIKES DOCKING STATION 71

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KEVIN STREET ACROSS FROM WHERE THE COLLEGE WAS

For over 130 years, Kevin Street was synonymous with technological education in Ireland, but in 2021, TU Dublin closed the gates of Kevin Street for a final time as staff and students relocate to fabulous new facilities in the Central Quad on the new Grangegorman campus.

Back in the late 1960s I studied Telecommunications and Electronics at Kevin Street College Of Technology and I must admit that I disliked the building which was supposed to be modern and the best thing since sliced-bread. The classrooms were too warm in good weather and freezing in winter and there were many other problems that I will not discuss here.

Dublin Institute of Technology has its origins in the City of Dublin Technical Schools, with a Technical College founded at Kevin Street in 1885. In 1963, the Minister for Education, (future President) Patrick Hillery, signed a contract for a new building for the College of Technology at Kevin Street. The project was completed in 1968, with Hooper & Mayne as the architects. It’s an International Style building, with the administration and entrance block to Kevin Street capped by a wavy canopy on the fourth floor.

The Kevin Street College site was sold in April 2019 for €140 million: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/art-and-design/frank-mcdonald-what-s-not-to-like-about-dublin-s-new-kevin-st-development-quite-a-lot-1.4321803

In 2021 An Bord Pleanála granted a 10 year planning permission to Shane Whelan’s Westridge Real Estate for the development of 53,110 sq ft of office accommodation in two 11-storey blocks alongside 299 build to rent apartments across three buildings of up to 14 storeys in height. Westridge acquired the 3.57 acre site for €140 million in August 2019 and a report lodged with the plans by EY estimates that the total output that the redevelopment will generate over 10 years is €7.67 billion.

DUBLINBIKES DOCKING STATIONS AT GRANGEGORMAN – THERE ARE IN FACT THREE

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DOCKING STATIONS 103 104 AND 105

It is unusual to see a cluster of three docking stations such as this collection of three on the street passing through the TU university campus.

DublinBikes is a public bicycle sharing scheme in Dublin, Ireland. It is operated by JCDecaux and has been in operation since 2009. The scheme has over 115 stations and 42,000 annual subscribers.

DUBLINBIKES DOCKING STATION 03 CLOSE UP

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BOLTON STREET 1 JULY 2023

I used a Sony E 18-105mm lens and a Sony FX30 camera. What worries me is that I do not remember buying this lens and it is my policy to purchase full frame lenses only … so where did it come from?

[UPDATE] I checked with my dealer and apparently it was included as a kit lens as part of a special offer as I was one of the first to purchase the FX30 Camera []

The Sony E PZ 18-105mm f/4 G OSS Lens is a wide-ranging zoom lens that provides a 35mm-equivalent focal length range of 27-158mm, covering wide-angle to telephoto perspectives. A constant f/4 maximum aperture offers consistent performance throughout the zoom range and is especially beneficial when working with greater zoom magnifications in low-light conditions. Also benefitting working in dim light or at the long end of the zoom range is Optical SteadyShot image stabilisation, which works to minimise the appearance of camera shake by up to four shutter speed steps.

The robust bicycles are produced by the French bicycle company Mercier in Hungary and are repaired by JCDecaux. They are three-speed bicycles, fitted with Shimano Nexus gears which can be changed up and down using a twist/grip shifter on the right handlebar. A Shimano hub dynamo in the front wheel generates power for front and rear always-on LED lighting. The bikes are fitted with Schwalbe Marathon tyres. Other components include a locking system, an adjustable cushioned saddle, a front bicycle basket, a kick stand and a bell.

Each station is equipped with an automatic rental terminal and stands for 20 to 40 bicycles. Initially, fourteen terminals have credit card facilities enabling the user to purchase a 3-Day Ticket.

If a user arrives with a rented bicycle at a station without open spots, the terminal grants another fifteen minutes of free rental time. The rental terminals also display information about neighbouring dublinbike stations, including location, number of available bicycles and open stands. A fleet of bicycle-transporting vehicles are used to redistribute bicycles between empty and full stations.