[publictransport] examples of overseas best practice

Mon Jan 7 11:54:10 EST 2008

Hi Rob,

Below  my letter to the Business Age.
Note that the Dutch system is much more complex than the simple  
references below  and very few cycling organisations
know anything about it.

Bye Alan
---------------------------------------------

  Dear Sir,

Train stations with  secure bicycle parking are needed in outer suburbia

By banning bikes on peak hour commuter trains before there are enough  
theft proof bicycle parking spaces at stations Connex is encouraging  
cyclists to go to work by car and failing to increase patronage in  
many outer suburbs where rail stations are too far away to walk, too  
insecure to park a car and have no convenient feeder bus services.  
The real problem for Connex is not the few cyclists who put their  
bikes on trains but the much greater number of cyclists who are  
choosing to drive because their is no secure bicycle parking at all  
at unstaffed stations and not enough parking spaces at  staffed  
stations. The problem for the state government is that these long car  
commutes by cyclists are a major source of road congestion.

One solution is based on science. Riding a bike uses the ergonomic  
advantage of pedaling over walking to go 3.5 times as far (2 to 4 km)  
for the same physical effort as walking. It increases the catchment  
area of many stations five fold because 70% of potential rail users  
are within easy cycling distance but only only 12 % are within easy  
walking distance. If there was secure bicycle parking at all rail  
stations and the rail system was extended into outer urban areas the  
potential of the existing rail system in Melbourne could be extended  
by 50,000 bike rail commuters or more. Indeed, if a bicycle is used  
at both ends of a rail trip, as happens with 25% of the bike/rail  
commutes in the Netherlands, the rail system would not only provide  
convenient access to the CBD but  to most  destinations within easy  
cycling distance of all rail lines.

In the Netherlands only folded bicycles with smaller wheels, that  
take up little space, can be taken on with the flow peak hour trains  
for free; a system that is appropriate for  Melbourne.  The  
integration of bicycles and the public transport system has the  
potential greatly reduce carbon dioxide emissions, air pollution and  
road congestion but neither the Public Transport Division of DoI or  
Connex has any coherent plan to realize these benefits.

Alan A. Parker

On 05/01/2008, at 10:42 PM, Rob Eke wrote:

> In my discussion with DOI they let slip they do not want  
> “discretion” to be a factor ( on V-Line trains), claiming that the  
> cyclists has to have certainty they will get their bike carried, so  
> they “feel” certainty is provided by a “Ban”.. great thinking and  
> tells you what they want.. in spite of the motherhood rhetoric  
> about encouraging bicycling in the community ( on paths) it is  
> clear their view is slanted towards bikes off trains, buses and  
> trams for good and certainly confined to paths if they can, meaning  
> off roads too if they can get away with it…
>
>
>
> This is a clear thin edge of the wedge attack and has serious  
> implications for cycling as a normal transport option and a normal  
> community activity…and Bicycle Victoria has laid down with it…they  
> need condemning by mass member resignations and serious public  
> outcry… you don’t need them anyway you can get your riding  
> insurance cheaper now through Cyclo Sportif Cycling Club at  
> Cyclesports Victoria for $45 a year.( see http:// 
> www.cyclosportifvic.com.au/page/news.html )
>
>
>
> So this needs to be a multifaceted campaign with a variety of  
> outcomes determined by priority in an ordered and logical fashion.  
> Some vital aspects could be:-
>
>
>
> Minister revoke this absurd ban to provide access for those in  
> necessity ( riders use their discretion, not the system operator)
> This government act to proscribe cycling as a normal transport  
> option and a fundamental part of the transport system & integrated  
> into mainstream.
> Bicycle Victoria be reminded in no uncertain terms it must act for  
> its member base and not it’s private internal clique of business  
> partners and commercial interests and forgetting its core reason  
> for being, providing member services. ( see its 2007 annual report  
> and financial statement and you will see the mess it got itself  
> into in 2007, it needs a shake up starting with its key officers,  
> as much of its good work in the past has been shattered by its  
> absurd current politics.)
> a proactive plan for a multifaceted campaign to ensure cycling  
> remains a mainstream, normal community transport option and a  
> valuable necessary health and environmentally friendly activity and  
> is not maligned or marginalised by Government Policy and Commercial  
> practices and media interests.
> some might say free public transport too, that would certainly  
> remove one major headache , Connex, and save the State $500M on  
> myki…. It has merit
>
>
> cheers
>
>
>
> Rob
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: publictransport-bounces at yarrabug.org [mailto:publictransport- 
> bounces at yarrabug.org]On Behalf Of Nicholas Dow
> Sent: Saturday, 5 January 2008 9:52 PM
> To: publictransport at yarrabug.org
> Subject: [publictransport] examples of overseas best practice
>
>
>
>
> Alex was kind enough to refer me to:
> http://trimet.org/howtoride/bikes/bikesonmax.htm
> example of bike racks on rail vehicles in Portland, Oregon, USA.
>
> http://www.bvg.de/index.php/en/Bvg/Detail/folder/759/id/2909/nb/1/ 
> name/Accompanying+persons%2C+etc.+%26+conditions+of+carriage
> has details of Berlin.  Note those "rule-bound" Germans allow  
> discretion!!!
> Bicycles
>
> Passengers can travel with their bicycles on the S-Bahn (urban  
> railway) and U-Bahn (underground railway) lines, on regional rail  
> transport and on trams in the designated carriages, provided there  
> is sufficient space (if necessary, the personnel will decide).
>
>
>
>
> Nik Dow
>
> NIKDOW P/L
>
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