Dublin becomes the latest European city to join the cycling revolution this summer, following cities such as Lyon, Paris and Brussels by launching a cheap bike-hire scheme.

In return for exclusive access to several hundred billboards in the city, the advertising giant JC Decaux has agreed to provide Dublin with 500 shiny new bikes, which people will be able to hire for a small fee on the spot. Hundreds of specially designed bike-racks where people can pick up and drop off their wheels will be placed around the city.

Such schemes are not a new concept; many European cities have had something similar for years. However, the problem has always been that, over time, the bike fleet steadily disappears as they get stolen or are simply not returned.

JC Decaux's scheme is slightly different. For a start, each bike will be fitted with an electronic tag to ensure that if it does get swiped, it can be tracked down very easily.

But also - unlike most older city-bike schemes - they are not completely free to use. In Lyon, where the scheme was first rolled out two years ago, cyclists pay about 30p for every half-hour they have the bike. You have to set up an account before you can use the scheme. Then, as soon as you swipe your membership card at one of the docking stations, the clock starts ticking and you begin being charged. Only when you check your bike back into another docking station will you stop being billed.

The scheme, dubbed Cyclocity, has worked amazingly well in the French and Belgian cities in which it has been rolled out. Last year, journeys totalling more than 12 million kilometres were made on the Cyclocity fleet. And the biggest project yet is now being rolled out in Paris, where more than 14,000 bikes are to be put into circulation.

In the UK, alas, none of our cities has anything like this. Although Halfords launched a scheme called Borrow the Bike in London last year - where it left a number of bicycles around the city for communal use - it only involved 10 bikes, all of which had disappeared within a few weeks.

In the past, cities such as Cambridge have trialled similar programmes, but - once again - the schemes collapsed as the bikes slowly vanished.

With new technology, however, there's now no reason for British cities not to reconsider launching communal bike schemes. Furthermore, through the use of commercial deals such as the one JC Decaux has struck, such initiatives need not cost the host city a penny.

Although I imagine JC Decaux's rivals are not too happy, it seems to me that the cities who have signed up to Cyclocity have emerged the real winners. As well as paying for all the bikes and docking stations, the advertising company has also agreed to use at least 60 per cent of its new billboards for civic "infomercials", keeping residents and tourists up to date with all the latest things going on in the city.

And best of all, the initiative is a great promotion for cycling, encouraging thousands of people to hop on a bike for short journeys across town rather than jumping into a bus or taxi.

The government-funded cycling promotion quango, Cycling England, is currently pumping money into six British towns and cities - Aylesbury, Brighton, Darlington, Derby, Exeter and Lancaster - to improve their cycling infrastructure. The idea is that these will become model towns for cycling. Although the focus is on new cycle paths and better signposting, they would be ideal locations for Cyclocity trials.

London's considerable cycling infrastructure also makes it an ideal candidate. If you're reading this, Ken, the number for JC Decaux's UK head office is 020-8326 7777.