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Audio

• 3AW and ABC Radio News (1) (Feb 15, mp3 file)
• 3AW Radio News (2) (Feb 15, mp3 file)

Text

• Bike ban back-flip (ABC News)
• Angry cyclists win train backflip (Herald Sun)
• Bikes back on for V/Line services (Bendigo Courier)

From the January 29th edition of the Midland Express, a Elliott Midland Newspaper Group that covers Castlemaine, Kyneton & Woodend.

The Advocate, 2008-01-22:

RUSSELL Cadman used to love combining his cycling hobby with the public transport commute from his Woodend home to work in Keilor.

He would ride to the Woodend railway station, board the V/Line train with his bike, get off at St Albans and ride the rest of the way to work.

But all that has changed with the State Government’s ban on bikes on peak-hour Connex and V/Line train services.

“I have had to buy another bike, which I intended to keep in a locker at St Albans station,” Mr Cadman said. “But trying to find a locker was a whole other hassle.”

Hiring lockers at the Woodend and St Albans stations, as well as supplying his own lock, will cost Mr Cadman about $150.

When he first inquired about the lockers, he was told by a staff member at the St Albans station that there were none spare.
However, another cyclist found there were four spare lockers.

“It is so frustrating,” Mr Cadman said. “We were told there were none and then it turns out there were free lockers.”
While the Government has enforced the ban, it has no immediate plans to increase bicycle racks and lockers at any stations in the western suburbs.

A spokeswoman for acting Public Transport Minister Tim Pallas said the Government was trialling a new bike cage at Eltham station.
She said St Albans had 12 bike lockers and five bike racks.

Bendigo resident Ken Mann also commutes to St Albans station for his job and has the same problems as Mr Cadman.
“I have to rely on my bike to get me to and from work and the station,” he said.

He also has to fork out money for lockers and a new bike to store at the other end of his commute. Both men said they biked for health and environmental reasons.

“The Government promotes using these modes of transport and then makes it difficult for us,” Mr Mann said.

“I would have thought trains and bikes would be encouraged, rather than discouraged.

“I just found it [using the train and bicycle] really convenient. “Having an office job, it is the only exercise I get each week.”

Central Victorian bike activists plan to take the success of a rethink on train bike bans further and advocate for greater integration between rail and bike use. Up to fifty cyclists – many of them catching the morning service from Castlemaine with cardboard replica bikes – gathered at Bendigo Station yesterday to voice their protest at a State Government ban of bikes on peak-hour trains.

This week Minister Lynne Kosky ordered a review of the ban and will not impose the restrictions until it is complete.

Rally organiser Jill Gibson said this was an opportunity for the government to completely reverse ban and look at new and better ways of integrating bicycles into the public transport system.

‘‘This is a chance to make it that much better and as a link in the chain, so to speak, of an integrated system,’’ she said.

The volunteer for Sustainability Victoria said like the need to address climate change, the community had led the way on the bike issue, particularly in central Victoria, where there were fewer public transport options and people grasped the value of the need for alternatives.

‘‘In Castlemaine we have a community that has really jelled, and issues like this bring the community together,’’ Ms Gibson said.

‘‘People have moved here for deliberate life choices and are very conscious of those choices.’’

She said the bike train option allowed many people to do without the expense of a second car. City of Greater Bendigo councillor Keith Reynard, who led the council move against the ban, said it was also vital to have public transport systems that support bicycle travel because of the rise in commuter travel and its potential to contribute to tourism.

‘‘We want to promote cycling where people come up and ride around central Victoria, and the public transport integration in this is all part of the journey,’’ he said.

Cr Reynard said bikes also posed an alternative solution to the ongoing problem of car parking for rail commuters, where the 120 space site filled early and overflowed into surrounding streets.

‘‘I understand it won’t suit everybody, but the more we can utilise alternatives like bike travel, the less pressure there is on limited spaces,’’ he said.

‘‘As fuel prices go up I think we are going to see more and more of this (bicycle use).’’ Bendigo Bicycle Users Group president Keith Longridge said the review provided an opportunity for the government to encourage more cycle commuting.

‘‘I think the first reaction of Bendigo cyclist to this ban is they were being marginalised,’’ Mr Longridge said.

‘‘We want the government to act in an encouraging, rather than a discouraging, role and see bikes as a key to the efficiency of the whole system.’’

He said infrastructure details such as better bicycle storage stations (Bendigo Station presently has 12 lockers) were part of the next step to solving wider transport problems.

‘‘We’ve got to get out of this 1950s and 60s thinking of just building a freeway and filling it with cars.’’

V/Line area service manager Andrew Berry said the rally had been orderly and provided no difficulty, but he said the company would be making a submission to the Minister on the difficulty large numbers of bikes created for passenger access.

He said V/Line’s major concern was with safety and the possibility of multiple bicycles overflowing from storage areas and impeding people’s ability to get on and off trains.

Alan Bull and Mark Slater protesting against the bike ban. Photographer: Jemina Wilson

ABC Central Victoria: Bike ban protest

ABC Online: Train bike ban sparks protest
Cyclists have been at the Castlemaine and Bendigo railway stations in central Victoria this morning protesting against a ban on bicycles on peak hour trains. The State Government announced yesterday that it is reviewing the ban which is due to take effect on regional services from next month.

Castlemaine environmentalist and cyclist Jill Gibson says better use of luggage areas would allow bikes to fit comfortably on trains. She says cyclists have been handing out flyers and asking people to sign a petition against the ban.

“In that flyer we’ll be including contact details for anyone that people might want to contact and a copy of a letter that might help make it easier for them to do some protesting as well if they wanted to,” she said.

ABC Online: Organisers say around 100 people attended the protest. Photographer: Jemina Wilson

Protesters who travelled to Bendigo station from Castlemaine. Photographer: Jemina Wilson.

ABC Online: Jill Gibson delivered a letter to Cr. Keith Reynard outlining concerns about the bike ban. Photographer: Jemina Wilson

ABC Online: Jill Gibson of Mount Alexander Sustainability Group talks with Cr. Keith Reynard. Photographer: Jemina Wilson

ABC Online: Cr. Keith Reynard attended the protest then rode his bike to work. Photographer: Jemina Wilson

Bike ban audio: Carol Skinner and Bronwyn Machin discuss the bike ban

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Part Two: Channel Ten (22/01/08)

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• Audio of interview on RRR-FM’s ‘Along For The Ride’. (mp3, running time approx 18 minutes, file size 3M)

Victorian Transport Minister Lynne Kosky will review her decision to ban bikes from peak hour trains after claiming her department misinformed her on the issue. Ms Kosky said today her department had told her it had undertaken a full consultation and review which found strong support for banning bikes at peak hours.

“I was misinformed by the department that they had done a full consultation on this and that is what I am incredibly disappointed about,” she told ABC Radio today.

“That’s why I have ordered a review of the full implementation.”

She said there needed to be an agreement between bike groups and commuters about sharing space on trains during peak hours.

“We do have quite a lot of complaints from people who are concerned about bikes, but there is a way of managing this where we can have cyclists and other commuters on the trains,” Ms Kosky said.

She said solutions could involve reserving the last carriage on trains for bike riders or improving storage at stations.

“I would have preferred not to look at a review (but the department) had informed me they had undertaken full consultation and had very strong support for this policy but that was not the case,” she said.

Victorian Transport Minister Lynne Kosky will review her decision to ban bikes from peak hour trains after claiming her department misinformed her on the issue.

Ms Kosky said her department had told her it had undertaken a full consultation and review which found strong support for banning bikes at peak hours.

“I was misinformed by the department that they had done a full consultation on this and that is what I am incredibly disappointed about,” she told ABC Radio.

“That’s why I have ordered a review of the full implementation.”

She said there needed to be an agreement between bike groups and commuters about sharing space on trains during peak hours.

“We do have quite a lot of complaints from people who are concerned about bikes, but there is a way of managing this where we can have cyclists and other commuters on the trains,” Ms Kosky said.

She said solutions could involve reserving the last carriage on trains for bike riders or improving storage at stations.

“I would have preferred not to look at a review (but the department) had informed me they had undertaken full consultation and had very strong support for this policy but that was not the case,” she said.

THE controversial ban of bikes on trains might be overturned by the State Government, following growing anger from cycling advocates.

On her first day back at work, Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky ordered an immediate review of the rush-hour ban that started only three weeks ago.

The move to ban bikes on Connex and V/Line services sparked heated debate, questioning the Government’s own commitment to more Victorians using sustainable forms of transport.

Ms Kosky told The Age the review would begin immediately, and she would meet cycling groups to find some middle ground. “I’ve had a chat with Connex and V/Line, and we’ve decided to review the full implementation of it,” Ms Kosky said.

“The last message I want to send is that we don’t want people to cycle.”

And the latest Department of Infrastructure figures from a recent passenger survey found that fewer than 100 cyclists carried their bikes on board peak-hour trains each day.

A department source said the ban was not properly worked through, and the backlash was unexpected. It is believed that Ms Kosky had already expressed her frustration to senior officials about how the ban proceeded.

The facilities development manager at Bicycle Victoria, Jason den Hollander, said the organisation recognised the problems of overcrowding on peak-hour trains, but wanted the ban on V/Line services to be dumped completely.

Mr den Hollander said more secure bike parking at stations was needed, and folding bikes should be allowed on all public transport.

The group is also lobbying the department to examine the use of bike-only carriages, or to include carriages with foldable seats to allow for more standing room.

More than 100 cyclists are still expected to arrive at Bendigo station tomorrow to protest against the ban.

Organiser Jill Gibson said she was ecstatic about the review, and looked forward to meeting Ms Kosky.

Ms Gibson said more had to be done to improve regional rail services for all passengers.

“I’m glad she’s opening the book,” she said. “There should be no ban, there should be full access for everyone.”

A spokeswoman for the Bin the Bike Ban lobby group, Brianna Laugher, said Ms Kosky’s move was fantastic.

“Maybe they should make real changes for carriages to hold bikes properly, and we’d like to see more innovative interiors for new trains,” she said.

Cyclists could also pay a small fare to carry a bike on peak-hour trains.

“If that was one solution to overturning the ban, we’d support it,” she said.

The new rules prevent cyclists taking their bikes on zone 1 metropolitan trains that arrive in the city between 7am and 9am, or leave it between 4pm and 7pm. V/Line bans bikes on trains arriving in Melbourne before 9am, and on leaving the city between 4 and 6pm.

Also, Herald Sun, 22-01-2008: Train bike ban to go

A CONTROVERSIAL move to ban bicycles from peak-hour trains looks set to be overturned.

Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky has called for a review, which seems likely to lead to the ban being dropped.

The move comes after the Herald Sun revealed the Department of Infrastructure had authorised the ban to try to make room on crowded trains.

It is believed the minister, who returned to work yesterday, was furious when she discovered the ban had been ordered from January 1 without consultation or any public warning.

Cyclists across Victoria are stepping up a gear to overturn the bike ban on trains. Connex and V/Line travellers are at loggerheads with transport operators, who say the ban is needed to ease overcrowding across the rail network. Some cycling groups believe the ban was a knee-jerk reaction by the State Government to placate train travellers fed up with cramped conditions.

And the latest Department of Infrastructure figures from a recent passenger survey found that fewer than 100 cyclists carried their bikes on board peak hour trains each day.On Wednesday morning, about 100 cyclists are expected to arrive at Bendigo station to protest against the ban.

Protest organiser Jill Gibson said the ban had already begun to affect regular commuters. She called on Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky to allow bikes back on trains. Ms Gibson said cyclists would take cardboard bicycles on to the train from Castlemaine to Bendigo in a “symbolic gesture”.

“We figure that the number of people wanting to commute and bring their bikes is increasing … there are no limitations on the number of prams allowed on trains,” Ms Gibson said.

On Friday, the City of Greater Bendigo voted to push for Ms Kosky to dump the ban and to initiate and lead a delegation of central Victorian councils to meet with V/Line management to highlight the negative implications the ban will have on regional train travellers.

The facilities development manager at Bicycle Victoria, Jason den Hollander, said the organisation recognised the problems of overcrowding on peak-hour services but said the ban could be modified to allow bikes on certain carriages.

Mr den Hollander said more secure bike parking at stations was needed and that folding bikes should be allowed on all public transport. Bicycle Victoria is working with the department to get secure cages built at Eltham and South Geelong stations, which is part of a pilot program.

A spokeswoman for the Bin the Bike Ban lobby group, Brianna Laugher, acknowledged that trains were overcrowded and said cyclists didn’t want preferential treatment.

“If they need to beef up restrictions because of overcrowding that is fine.

“But the peak-hour ban is unacceptable because it removes too much flexibility and perhaps legitimises some antagonism to cyclists,” she said.

Cyclists are banned from taking bikes on peak-hour services in Perth. However, those with foldable bikes can use any service, as can riders with unicycles.

The new rules prevent cyclists taking their bikes on Zone 1 metropolitan trains that arrive in the city between 7am and 9am, or leave it between 4pm and 7pm.

http://www.binthebikeban.org