Peak-hour bike ban on Melburnian trains
From today bikes will no longer be allowed on trains in Melbourne during peak-hours, directly affecting commuter cyclists who cycle part of the way to work in conjunction with trains. This is in stark contrast with ACT’s recently introduced free bus service for cyclists. The combination of trains & bikes imho creates one of the most efficient systems of mass transit, offering capacity, speed & coverage of a rail network, added with the flexibility of bicycles.
Granted I don’t know how many cyclists actually ride on trains with their bikes, but it was obviously enough for it to be regarded as a nuisance by the operator, in which case there is always the possibility of introducing a bike carriage during these peak-hour runs, even some preferential space allocated for bicycles in a shared carriage. It was indeed surprising to read that bicycles were always discouraged on trains, especially in an era where it is popular for governments to at least appear to be catering for “greener” alternatives to established practices in all fields.
Article here.
Though not entirely comparable, this charming promotional film by British Transport Films from 1955 demonstrates some wonderful possibilities, not to mention some dashing contemporary cycling attire.
Tags: Melbourne, News, Rant, Train
In San Diego in the early ’90s you had to have a pass to bring your bike on the train, and peak hours were no bikes allowed.
Perhaps a no-seat car with lots of overhead straps specifically for bikommuters.
Yeah there’s something like that in the video with hooks for hanging up bikes.
After some further reading, it seems that a considerable number of carriage already have designated bike storage areas, so these spaces are wasted during peak hours, and that it was indeed because of too many cyclists are using the service that the ban is introduced.
All of a sudden I’m getting inspirations about how to solve traffic congestion during peak hours..
It’s also rather discouraging to see that the principle cycling advocacy body of Victorica - Bicycle Victoria is actually supporting the move.