Bleeper, an Irish bicycle-share and related services company, is adding 750 new pedal-assisted bicycles to its on-street fleet in Dublin. The new Segway-branded bicycles are distinctive, with smaller-than-standard 20-inch wheels and a low-step frame that allows easy access. They have a battery range of 50km and like all legal e-bikes their motor cuts out assisting at 25km/h. Like the existing Bleeper bikes, the new bicycles are hybrid stationless bicycles but must be locked to public bicycle stands. The company said it will roll out the new bikes throughout August, bringing its shared fleet to 1,500 bicycles. With the doubling of bikes, Bleeper said it has had to expand its maintenance and operations staffing levels to support the move.Bleeper said Payzone, its public bikes sponsor until at least 2027, supports the expansion, and its brand will also appear on the new bicycles. The new pedal-assisted e-bikes will use Pay-As-You-Go pricing, with a 1 unlock fee and a 0.29 per-minute trip fee, with subscription options also available. That is compared to the same unlock fee and a 0.05 per-minute trip fee for their non-electric bicycles. Generally, Bleeper, for both electric and non-electric bikes, has moved to a system where bicycles can only be locked at designated public bicycle stands, with its app detecting whether a bicycle is locked in the correct place. This means that in some suburbs in its operational zone, those parking spaces remain in hub-like clusters, so its best to check before making a trip.Bleeper said that the new bicycles have a series of built-in safety features, including a Reduced Speed mode which automatically slows the bike when a user enters a geo-fenced Slow Zone , although none of these are currently shown on the companys app. Bleeper said: There will also be No-Entry Zones in which the e-bike will stop and lock itself if a user fails to turn around when prompted to do so.Cycling outside their operational zone (pictured below) is not allowed, and the companys app notes that pushing beyond the secondary boundary incurs a 20 fine. IMAGE: Current spread of electric bicycles in Dublin within Bleepers operation zone in Dublin. Hugh Cooney, founder and CEO of Bleeper, said: We have watched e-bikes evolve from a niche mode of transport into a vital part of urban mobility. This expansion of our fleet reflects the incredible appetite Dubliners have shown for cycling and sustainable transport.We invested significant time and effort in identifying the right shared e-bike for Dublin, says Cooney, and I firmly believe this Segway model will be a huge success with our customers, he said in a press release on the new bicycles.Cooney added: Since 2017, we have worked closely with the four Dublin local authorities to help establish the city as a leading example of how a commercially funded bike-sharing service can be successfully delivered. These new e-bikes build on that success and represent the next step in the evolution of bike-sharing in Dublin.