Five Surprising Ways Dublin Is Using Data To Transform The Future Of Active Travel In Cities

Published on October 25, 2025

By: Paramita Sarkar

Dublin is starring a transformative displacement successful municipality recreation by harnessing nan powerfulness of information to create safer, healthier, and much sustainable cities. With an expanding attraction connected progressive travel, nan metropolis has embarked connected an eager task to measurement nan existent effect of infrastructure investments successful stepping and cycling. Through nan innovative ‘Data Insights for Active Travel’ initiative, Dublin is combining technology, organization engagement, and argumentation alignment to revolutionize really cities attack sustainable transport.

In a metropolis wherever 220,000 return trips are made regular by ft aliases bicycle, Dublin’s effort to go a exemplary for different cities is gaining traction. This project, backed by nan Irish authorities and section authorities, intends to guarantee that 95% of Dubliners are wrong a 5-minute locomotion of safe routes for progressive travel. The underlying extremity is clear: to amended some nan information and wellness of each municipality roadworthy users, promoting progressive carrier arsenic nan preferred mode of movement.

What Is nan Project About?

Launched successful March 2024, nan ‘Data Insights for Active Travel’ task has sought to reside a longstanding situation successful municipality mobility: nan deficiency of accurate, real-time information to measure and measure nan effectiveness of progressive recreation infrastructure. Despite important nationalist investment, measuring nan outcomes of these efforts has been difficult owed to fragmented and incomplete information postulation systems. The caller inaugural intends to standardize information postulation and usage exertion to create a much connected, robust information ecosystem.

The task focuses connected nan integration of various technologies and community-driven information postulation efforts to shape a broad knowing of progressive recreation patterns and nan effect of infrastructure improvements. Key components of nan task see nan deployment of AI roadside sensors, smart motorcycle lights, and a cutting-edge AI information appraisal tool, marking nan first clip these technologies person been applied to Dublin’s progressive recreation efforts.

Where Is This Happening?

The ‘Data Insights for Active Travel’ task is centered successful Dublin, but its implications widen to cities and municipalities crossed Ireland. Dublin City Council is moving successful business pinch nationalist and section nationalist assemblage entities to thrust nan initiative. As nan task progresses, it is expected to power carrier and mobility policies connected some a location and nationalist level, mounting a precedent for sustainable municipality improvement passim Ireland.

One of nan standout achievements of nan task is nan creation of nan Dublin Active Travel Dashboard. This instrumentality integrates information from a assortment of sources to measure progressive recreation patterns successful real-time, correlating them pinch infrastructure usage, nationalist wellness impacts, ambiance data, and imaginable financial savings. This dashboard not only allows for amended information of existent initiatives but besides immunodeficiency successful early municipality readying efforts.

When Will We See Results?

Although nan ‘Data Insights for Active Travel’ task officially launched successful March 2024, its impacts are already being felt successful nan city. The Dublin Active Travel Dashboard is operational, offering real-time insights into progressive recreation behaviors. Moreover, nan strategy will proceed to germinate and grow successful nan coming years, arsenic much information is collected and analyzed to measurement nan semipermanent effects of Dublin’s progressive recreation investments.

By embedding nan WHO Health Economic Assessment Tool (HEAT) for stepping and cycling into nan dashboard, nan metropolis is capable to exemplary projected wellness and biology impacts for various neighborhoods, offering a clear image of really finance successful cycling and stepping infrastructure tin use some nationalist wellness and sustainability goals.

Why Is This Project Important?

The emergence successful fame of progressive travel, particularly successful municipality centers, has underscored nan request for safe and accessible stepping and cycling infrastructure. In cities for illustration Dublin, wherever cycling and stepping are becoming progressively popular, nan request for amended accommodation has ne'er been higher. But arsenic nan measurement of progressive recreation increases, truthful excessively does nan request for robust information to negociate and amended these systems.

This task is important not conscionable for Dublin, but for cities worldwide grappling pinch nan situation of creating safer, much sustainable recreation environments. It intends to supply policymakers pinch nan devices needed to make informed decisions astir infrastructure investments, moving distant from nan ad-hoc information postulation of nan past. By utilizing innovative technologies and fostering collaboration betwixt section and nationalist agencies, nan task intends to create a much efficient, effective attack to municipality mobility.

The Dublin inaugural besides aligns pinch Ireland’s broader National Sustainable Mobility Policy, a strategy designed to trim c emissions and amended nan wide value of life for residents. As much cities attraction connected reducing their c footprints, Dublin’s data-driven attack provides a useful model for different municipalities striving to execute akin goals.

How Will It Impact Dublin’s Future?

Dublin’s eager information task has already begun to pull world attention. In 2024, nan inaugural won nan Mobility Award astatine nan prestigious Smart City Expo World Congress successful Barcelona, cementing Dublin’s position arsenic a leader successful sustainable municipality mobility. The city’s attraction connected information and exertion successful improving progressive recreation information and sustainability could animate different European cities to adopt akin models, creating a ripple effect that could heighten municipality mobility connected a world scale.

The semipermanent occurrence of nan task will dangle connected really efficaciously nan collected information tin beryllium translated into actionable argumentation changes. As much information is gathered, Dublin City Council will proceed to refine its carrier strategies, utilizing evidence-based insights to style early investments successful cycling, walking, and nationalist transit infrastructure.

Dublin’s committedness to data-driven decision-making represents a forward-thinking attack to municipality planning, 1 that prioritizes health, sustainability, and inclusivity. By collaborating crossed local, regional, and nationalist levels, nan metropolis is proving that corporate action connected information tin lead to safer, healthier, and much sustainable cities.