BIKES ALLOWED ON CONNEX AND V/LINE SERVICES FROM TODAY

Bicycles will again be allowed on all Connex and V/Line services from today in a push to address the needs of both cyclists and other passengers, Minister for Public Transport Lynne Kosky announced today. In a further boost for combination bike and train users, Ms Kosky announced $1 million in funding for new bike cages across the metropolitan and regional train network.

“The initial problem of bikes taking up space on trains hasn’t disappeared. To begin addressing the problem we will need to place more secure, modern bike storage facilities at stations,” Ms Kosky said.

“As previously announced, a prototype bike cage will be installed at Eltham Station in April. We will deliver up to 20 bicycle cages for stations throughout metropolitan Melbourne and at key regional hubs, providing around 400 secure new bike spaces for public transport users.”

Cages will feature more secure access and a larger storage capacity than the bike lockers and cages currently in use across the network, giving more people the option of combining bike and train travel and providing greater peace of mind to existing users.

Limitations to bikes on trains were announced in response to train patronage growing by more than 20 percent over the past two years,” Ms Kosky said.

“Since this decision was announced, cyclists have provided us with feedback indicating it created problems for some commuters and should be reconsidered– particularly for travellers who live great distances from stations or do not have access to secure bike storage facilities,” she said.

“We have listened to this feedback and we are responding with a policy that acknowledges the needs of cyclists and regular commuters alike. From today, bikes will be allowed on all Connex services, provided they are stored in the area inside the last door of the last carriage to minimise discomfort to other passengers.”

In addition, bikes will be allowed on all V/Line services. For the first time, from April tram and bus users will also be allowed to take folding bikes on all services, provided they are folded and contained within a carry bag.

In revising this decision, Ms Kosky said the Government had consulted with bike user groups and public transport operators.

Metlink, Connex and V/Line will work together to provide clear signage and information to assist cyclists and the travelling public to understand where bikes can be taken on public transport.

Development of an industry-wide set of standards for the carriage of folding bikes by the Department of Infrastructure, Bicycle Victoria and the Cycling Promotion Fund is also in progress.

Media contact: Sofia Dedes 9651 5799 or 0400 512 618 www.vic.gov.au

Central Victorian bicycle groups celebrated a victory yesterday with the reversal of the bike ban on country trains. Victorian Transport Minister Lynne Kosky announced the reversal of the policy to ban bikes on peak services on V/Line and Connex trains and further investigation into developing bicycle storage facilities at stations. The policy, which came into effect on January 1 this year, resulted in an outcry from regional bike commuters.

They argued the blanket ban across the state made no sense when V/Locity trains were equipped with bike storage areas and it was metropolitan services that were suffering from the overcrowding problem.

The government will develop a program to build 20 bike cages for longer-term storage at train stations, but it was uncertain if any of these would be for regional centres.

Castlemaine Bicycle Users Group convenor Jill Gibson said it was a great win for commonsense and people who had consciously made the move to more sustainable alternative transport.

‘‘I think Connex, V/Line and the minister were taken by surprise by just how strong the opposition to this policy was, how many cyclists there were and how passionate their response was,’’ she said.

Ms Gibson said the protests were also a great example of a community-driven campaign eager to see support for the lifestyle changes they had chosen to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

‘‘What this also shows is just how strong the consciousness is of these issues and that people in our community are making the choices,’’ she said.

Bendigo Bicycle Users Group president Keith Longridge said commuters would be pleased with the rethink and looked forward to more support in the form of storage facilities from the new positive relationship between the government and bicycle user groups.

‘‘I’d like to give credit to the government for the reversal when the issues were brought to their attention,’’ he said.

He said the blanket ban might have been an easy contractual change for Connex to negotiate with the government, but its impact on those who used the service had been huge.

V/Line spokesman Daniel Maloney said he hoped the prominence of the issue would develop a culture of mutual respect between train users, particularly when there were more bikes than they had storage facilities for.

Find more videos like this on Melbourne Cyclist

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)

It’s been your victory, well done to you all! Now lets keep an more careful eye on such matters in the future.

MetLink: Bikes back on peak hour trains and further improvements announced

The Age: Minister lifts bicycle ban on peak-hour trains
Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky will today bow to anger from cyclists and reverse a controversial plan to ban bikes on trains during rush hours. Bicycles will once again be allowed on all Connex and V/Line trains at all times – but only in the final carriage of Connex services, and only in set storage areas on V/Line trains. The backpedal comes just six weeks after the rush-hour ban was revealed.

The ban was not formally announced; instead, it was found in the fine print of the Government’s annual Fares and Ticketing Manual. Ms Kosky, who was on holiday when the ban was revealed, distanced herself from the decision to ban bikes, and immediately ordered a review of the decision upon returning to work last month.

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

The ban was also bad news for cycle lobby group Bicycle Victoria, which was forced to issue a public apology to its members for not fighting the Government over the issue.

Bicycle Victoria’s general manager, Harry Barber, said last night that he was relieved the ban had been reversed. “All the people who use a train-and-bike combination to get to work will be vastly relieved by this,” Mr Barber said. “We can now get on with hooking the bicycle network up with the train network.”

Ms Kosky will today meet bicycle and transport groups to advise them that she will reverse the policy.

In a sop to bike riders, Ms Kosky will also implement a new policy allowing folding bikes – little used in Australia but popular in European and American cities – on all trams and buses. Bikes will need to be folded before getting on to a service.

Chris Star, who helped form lobby group Bin the Bike Ban last month, said she was relieved the ban had been dropped.

“It created a lot of anger because we saw it as a denial of service. And it was done at such short notice and without consultation,” she said.

This is a great opportunity for BtBB and those affected by the bans to get their opinions known and constructively engage with the State Government on these issues.

More updates as they come to hand.

Many thanks to everyone who has shown support to oppose these peak hour bans and helped the campaign. This positive result couldn’t of occurred without your support.

Thank you!

Trains: Melbourne Metro
Trains: Victoria – Regional – V/Line
Public transport and bikes

Trains: Melbourne Metro

Taking your bike on trains in metropolitan Melbourne
31 January 08: General update on bikes and public transport
Plus summary of our meeting with the Minister. Link to page

29 Jan 08 With the bikes on peak hour trains scenario now under review by the Minister for Public Transport, Lyn Kosky, Bicycle Victoria will continue talks with the Minister and the Department of Infrastructure. We believe there should be an initiative to achieve on-going integration of all types of public transport and bicycle in Victoria that will make it easy for people to combine travel and in so doing become not only more active but help to alleviate Melbourne’s congestion issues and carbon emissions.

10 Jan 08 Bicycle Victoria’s overall aim is to make it easier to ride your bicycle to and from train stations. We’re also of the view that bicycles should be allowed on trains.
(see more at link supplied above)

Trains: Victoria – Regional – V/Line

Taking your bike on V/Line trains.
31 January 08: General update on bikes and public transport.
Plus summary of our meeting with the Minister. Link to page.
(see more at link supplied above)

Public transport and bikes
The bikes-on-trains issue continues to develop and it is a good time to clarify our position. (Something we haven’t done well so far!). This summary describes developments so far and the position Bicycle Victoria has put to the Minister.

31 January 2008
On 1 January bans on carrying bikes on some metro and regional train services came into effect. (See Links)

This ban sparked substantial media comment and letters to the Minister and Bicycle Victoria. Every aspect of the ban was commented on from ‘surely we are trying to encourage both bike riding and public transport use’ to comments on the technicalities of the ban and examples of how it would disrupt their travel arrangements.

In the light of this public debate, on 22 January the Minister announced a review of the ban. Well done everyone who wrote to the Minister. There is no doubt the strong public feedback convinced the Minister to announce the review.

Apology
Some of the letters we received expressed disappointment with Bicycle Victoria’s position on the bans. This criticism is valid and appropriate. The various criticisms, the issue and the events of the last month were reviewed in depth at a recent Bicycle Victoria Board meeting.

As an organisation we would like apologise to people who feel we let the side down with our acceptance of the ban. It was never our intention to ‘support’ the ban – a poor choice of words. We felt that we reluctantly had to accept the decision – however misguided or ill conceived – as it was being made in the interests of the broader travelling public. We could and should have handled it better.

We also apologise for causing concern through a poorly articulated position. We did not respond quickly to an issue that was clearly of strong concern.

Unfortunately – according to the feedback – we have left the impression that we are not working continuously to get More People Cycling More Often. We have been working for some time on the solutions listed below and believe that members will be supportive of our approach. Another of the accurate critiques was that we haven’t – in one place – outlined the initiatives we have been advocating or undertaking in the area of bikes and public transport. This page is a start at that.

Meeting with Minister
Bicycle Victoria has since had its first meeting with Minister Kosky since she became Minister in 2006. She told us of her current discussions with those involved in the ban including the Department, Connex, VLine and Metlink.

It appears that she is preparing to reshape public transport policy in a number of ways in favour of bike riders. If so, this could unblock a number of reforms and changes that we have been (unsuccessfully) advocating for some time including lifting other bans on bikes across the system. It could also see bikes moving into the mainstream to become a partner with public transport as part of a sustainable transport solution rather than as a problem.

At the meeting we raised the following issues.

System to system
We encouraged the Minister to initiate an on-going system-to-system integration project that will make it easy for people to combine travel by all types of public transport and bicycle in Victoria

In some places there is a strong interdependence between the ‘bike system’ and the ‘public transport system’. In Japan for example railway station entrances are surrounded by parked bicycles. In the Netherlands (1999) 30-40% of train travellers reach the railway station by bicycle. 14% of bus/tram/subway travellers get to the service by bike and 60-70% of express bus passengers use a bike to get to the service.

We told the Minister that Victoria has the opportunity to make a similarly high level of connection between the bicycle and public transport systems with substantial and wide reaching benefits. Furthermore the recent public debate showed that the community understands that this opportunity and wants the Government to act.

Trip types
We identified three types of ‘combined trips’ that people want to make.

1. Ride and park
For ride and park to be effective we need to develop:

Connections from the existing network to public transport nodes. Some stations like Bayswater, Eltham or Brighton Beach are right on the bike network. Some stations need a connection. At Hoppers Crossing for example the path runs out 100m away from the station and there is no pedestrian bicycle crossing from the shops.

Access to the station. Some stations and public transport nodes need reworking to improve access through car parks including providing ramps.

Priority, secure parking at nodes. This is being provided on the West Australian train system. We are proposing the Government roll out a similar but improved system based on a card-access cage right near the entrance to the station that is properly lit and covered by CCTV. Members will have seen the rather slow progress of the cage trial in Eltham. This trial – to be constructed in March – will allow us to test the ‘membership’ system for the cage and see how many people a cage with 20 parking spaces can support. We have asked for a roll out of cages, prioritised by demand across the metro and regional rail system. Public access parking rails need to be clustered near the cages and the current locations and supply reviewed and improved.

2. Carry on
For Carry on to be effective we need:

The bikes on train bans to be lifted.

Bike sized general luggage areas on public transport vehicles, starting with trains. Some metro train carriages have such an area with folding seats that works well. These are hard to identify when you are waiting on the platform and we have asked for the platform or carriage window to be marked.

We have asked for bikes to be allowed on buses and trams. The debate in January was about trains but we have long advocated for similar spaces on trams and bus, both of which will not currently carry bikes. Some of the trams running in Melbourne are the same vehicles that run in Europe and have a ‘bike space’ on board.

We have asked for the VLine coach rules to be changed to allow bikes on all coaches, enabling bike riders to plan their journeys with certainty.

We have asked for permission to carry a fold up bike on all public transport vehicles. Folding bikes are currently banned on trams and buses and we have been asking for many years for this ban to be lifted. Removal of this ban will allow people to ride-public transport-ride as well as use taxis to complete their journeys. We expect the use of folding bikes to grow and have encouraged the Minister to support this method of combined travel.

Codes of conduct. We have asked for a ‘share the space’ code of conduct to be developed and displayed in public transport vehicles so that people with bikes know the etiquette and can be supported by the code. The code will also allow passengers to ask someone with a bike to do the right thing.

3. Ride away
For Ride away to be effective we need:

Connections and routes – as above.

Priority, secure parking at nodes – as above. This will allow people to keep a bike at ‘the other end’. For example someone who catches the train to Clayton might want to ride to Monash University.

Velib – the French hire bike system – or other bike rental solutions. Someone might for example arrive at Southern Cross and use a short term hire bike to get to Docklands.

Connections to destinations.For many people their destination is not at the end of the public transport trip but a further journey away. For this reason Bicycle Victoria supported the path link between Huntingdale and Monash that is currently under construction along North Road.We encouraged the Minister to actively develop other connections to destinations. For example there is a pipe reservation (without a path) between the Tally Ho business village on Burwood highway and the Syndal railway station. The distance is less than 3km. The offices are currently poorly served by public transport. Public transport could be provided by connecting the station and offices with a high quality path along the reservation.

Recreation opportunities
We identified the importance of the rail system for excursions from trail heads such as catching the train to Lilydale in order to ride the Rail Trail.

Tourism opportunities
We raised the difficulties people face in getting their bikes on regional trains as well as onto regional coaches to get out and back from regional Victoria for a bike holiday. The Great Ocean Road is a tourism venue that riders have difficulty accessing by coach for example. We pointed out that tourism facilities such as the Bairnsdale to Orbost Rail trail rely on people using the Bairnsdale train and the Orbost coach.

Steady, committed approach
We have said that we are looking for is a strong commitment to make steady progress across the issues listed above.

The next step
The Minister is continuing to consult with stakeholders and we will let you know how the issue progresses.

This is valid for both Connex and V/Line.

Text of V/Line bulletin: Information Alert – Needs your attention – Bicycle Ban Update (23 January)

1. Click here for bulletin pdf

As you may have read in the press, the Government has announced a review of the bike ban policy affecting peak trains from 1 January.

V/Line has committed to being a part of this review and will be working with cycling groups, customers, Connex and the Government to develop a commonsense approach that will allow us to maximise travel opportunities for everyone, while still safely and efficiently transporting large numbers of people during peak periods.

There will obviously be a range of views and operational issues that will need to be considered as part of this review and staff are encouraged to raise any suggestions with line management to feed into the review process.

During this review period we ask conductors and station staff to not enforce the bike ban. Bikes should continue to be managed in the same way as last year, which was to accept bikes on peak and off peak trains if there is capacity and it is safe.

We will keep you up to date with any developments, but in the meantime encourage any staff with questions to please speak with Regional or Area Services Managers.

Following is the text of Bin the Bike Ban’s submission to the DOI review of the peak-hour bike ban.

—-

Bin the Bike Ban is a coalition of cycling groups and individuals gathered to overturn the recent Department of Infrastructure ban of bicycles on peak-hour trains. We represent over 500 individuals and have connections to many Victorian cycling groups.

Our position is that cycling and multi-model travel must both be encouraged as part of an integrated public transport model that aims to minimise car use. The benefits include improved public health, reduced road congestion and reduced reliance on oil. We believe that cycling should be supported by all levels of government as a normal, integrated form of transport.

In addition, we feel that the bicycle ban has been poorly managed, with limited consultation and public awareness prior to the ban taking force in January 2008.

We fully support the encouragement of ‘feeder travel’ to train stations with the provision of secure bicycle parking. However, many
passengers need their bicycles at both ends of their train journey — bicycle parking does not totally meet their needs.

Unless otherwise specified ‘carriages’ and ‘trains’ refer to both V/Line and Connex stock.

==Short-term goals (February and March 2008)==

1. Repeal the ban, effective immediately.

2. Widen the consultation process to include participating cycling groups from both regional and metropolitan areas in any future changes proposed by the Department of Infrastructure.

3. Improve communication to rail staff about locker management — existing lockers are not used efficiently due to uncertainties from cyclists about determining use and capacity, and procedures for their hire.

==Medium-term goals (2008–2009)==

4. Develop and disseminate a code of conduct for carrying bicycles and luggage on trains and publicise via pamphlets and posters.
Diagrams/photographs of how to carry bicycles on different types of carriages would be very useful for many cyclists who may not be aware of ways to minimise impacts on other passengers. Potential cyclists would be reassured that carrying a bicycle on a train is a legitimate activity. Clearly mark preferred sections of carriages for carrying.

5. Formalise and implement ongoing consultation with local cycling groups, such as region-based Bicycle User Groups (BUGs) as a necessary component of the decision-making process.

6. Announce any changes to regulations that reduce mobility compared to the current situation a significant period of time ahead of implementation. Install notices at relevant stations for a similar period.

7. Modify existing carriages to incorporate more flip-up seating and install bicycle storage loops/hooks Ensure that any changes do not impact upon existing disabled seating provision.

8. Increase secure bicycle parking at stations where required.

9a). Increase the frequency of V/Line services, including the introduction of partial services that do not run the entire line. b)
Introduce a standard, separate bicycle/luggage container on all services that do not already have one.

==Long-term goals==

10. Adopt an integrated (public) transport policy that encourages multi-modal travelling. Promote cycling as a normal commuter activity and just another form of transport.

11. Make ‘suitable bicycle storage provisions’ a requirement of any future train stock purchases, with the expectation that numbers of passengers carrying bicycles will increase.

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.”