Southern to ban cycles throughout the Olympics

[oversteer]

My pet hate is those folding bikes that are a dubious attempt to get around the 'folding cycles only' rule.
Something like a Brompton is good, because it genuinely folds up in a decent way. Some of these other types, Dahon etc, are really bulky, get two in a vestibule and it's tricky to get past them.
A shame TOCs can't find some dedicate storage for them, but of course a hard problem to solve on packed commuter trains.

 

[Pugwash]

You wouldn't mind if they paid road tax and acted in a responsible manner but they want everything and for free.

There is no such thing as road tax,

It was a crazy decision to get rid of the guards van, particularly short term, transport policy should enable people not to have to use a car. For the next round of stock purchases there should be one carriage with flip up seating down the side of the carriage, to allow bikes / large luggage to be carried or in the case of extreme crowding lots of standing.

 

[Southern]

What I don't understand is, they have the bike so why not ride it from a to b instead of dragging it on to public transport? Obviously, it isn't always going to be possible to do this but I wonder how many cyclists using the train are only doing so for a short journey that they could have cycled.

 

[Pugwash]

What I don't understand is, they have the bike so why not ride it from a to b instead of dragging it on to public transport? Obviously, it isn't always going to be possible to do this but I wonder how many cyclists using the train are only doing so for a short journey that they could have cycled.

Given the price of train fares, I suspect very few, I live in Chelmsford and have wanted my bike in London, so have put it on the train, now with the London cycle hire scheme I just use that instead.

I do quite regularly take my bike on the train up to suffolk when I am up there as public transport beyond the rail network is practically non existent.

Being able to take bikes on trains really makes a whole lot of difference to those of us that don't want to take the car everywhere.

I would be quite happy to pay an additional to take my bike on the train if there was somewhere to store it.

 

[Michael.Y]

I had a tandem on my train a couple of weeks ago. Stretched right across the vestibule door to door cutting the train (Class 175) in two. Muggins here was caught north of the obstruction and had to sit grumpily next to the disabled toilet for three quarters of an hour between Rhyl and Chester whistling Daisy Daisy under my breath.

 

[ushawk]

Well that is going to cause some fun for the volunteers who may need to cycle to some shifts. I'm fortunate in that I can do my shifts by public transport, but that wasn't always the case and I had planned to stay with a friend and cycle, which would have meant taking a bike on the train...

But on the flip side, you could have the possibility of people not being able to get on trains, because space is being taken up by a bike or 2. Advice we have been given to tell passengers is to check where there travelling. If its into the restriction area, then we have to politely tell them they cant take it on the train and they will need to lock it up. After all their moaning, advice them about the Boris Bikes, although id expect their use to be very very high.

Should add, all Coastway and Arun Valley services arent affected by the ban, just everything North of Gatwick.

 

[Bungle73]

Great shame! I'd personally ban 'em 24/7/365 as they're a firkin nuisance.

Lots of people who travel on trains are a "nuissance", maybe we should ban everyone and have trains travelling around with just the driver and guard.

The days of guards vans where you could stash half a dozen and no one would notice are long gone. London commuter routes are too busy now. Do easyjet let you take your car on board?

How does taking a car on a plane equate to taking a bike on a train?

You wouldn't mind if they paid road tax and acted in a responsible manner but they want everything and for free.

Oh how the car drivers love bringing out the "road tax" argument. For your information there is NO SUCH THING as "road tax". What there is is Vehicle Excise Duty, which is a tax on emissions, and therefore bicycles are exempt. It does not pay for the roads either. Roads are payed for through general taxation, and therefore paid for by EVERYONE, including cyclists.

Oh and one more thing, cyclists are on the road by right, car drivers are only there by licence.

I'll be out early on the 28th with a box of tin tacks . . .

Maybe we should do the same for cars, considering how many people they kill....

 

[Peter Mugridge]

My pet hate is those folding bikes that are a dubious attempt to get around the 'folding cycles only' rule.
Something like a Brompton is good, because it genuinely folds up in a decent way.

There is one bloke who is a regular in the high peak off Waterloo in the evening, usually on one of two specific trains, who has a Brompton and gets through the barriers with it folded.

Once on the train - usually at the vestibule nearest the back of the train - he unfolds it and uses it as a way of getting himself some extra space.

Haven't seen him for a couple of months now though so hopefully he has been caught and given a strong ticking off about his actions...

 

[jon0844]

Lots of people who travel on trains are a "nuissance", maybe we should ban everyone and have trains travelling around with just the driver and guard.

You could get rid of the guard then too. DOO would be quite safe if there weren't any passengers.

 

[bAzTNM]

What I don't understand is, they have the bike so why not ride it from a to b instead of dragging it on to public transport

I generally only take the bike on journeys from Bellgrove to Partick in Glasgow. I only take it because I hate that particular route due to the number of punctures I seem to get around there.

 

[jopsuk]

What I don't understand is, they have the bike so why not ride it from a to b instead of dragging it on to public transport? Obviously, it isn't always going to be possible to do this but I wonder how many cyclists using the train are only doing so for a short journey that they could have cycled.

A lot of cycle commuters into London will cycle to their local station, get the train forty or fifty miles and then cycle to their workplace, avoiding the underground/buses- where they will likely find more secure parking facilities than at either station. There are some that use two bikes (if you're paying £4000+ a year season ticket you can afford a couple of half decent commuter bikes!) but that does rather rely being able to lock the bike up at each end.

 

[jon0844]

Maybe that's the solution then; better bike storage facilities at stations (like Finsbury Park) and more storage at the London terminuses and/or more Boris Bikes.

 

[radamfi]

In the Netherlands, many commuters use two bikes to get to work. They ride one bike to their home station and then ride their other bike from the station near their place of work that had been parked overnight. This is possible because they have large parking areas that are protected by manned security and you cannot get out without the parking ticket.

 

[stut]

The two bikes solution relies on there being decent storage (and on your working at the same place every day - which many people don't). Personally, I see it as a compromise. I'm tall, so a folding bike is only good for short journeys, but there's no way it's safe to lock up a decent bike at Kings Cross overnight and at weekends so I compromise with an OK second-hand one for my 4-mile ride in London. It's not ideal, but beats the Tube.

In a country like Denmark or the Netherlands, secure parking is provided on station premises, at a nominal fee, alongside normal bike racks. You can bet that when it's introduced here, it will be off-premises and run for profit (rather like the one at Finsbury Park) costing way more.

Oh, and you still see loads of Bromptons on trains in the Netherlands. But then, there's always space...

 

[leshuttle]

So does this ban apply to travelling outside of London? For example I'm travelling on the Tonbridge-Ashford line during the Olympics and need to take my bike but I'm not going anywhere near London.

 

[Jonny]

I've heard that it's possible to put a cycle in a sufficiently bag to enclose it (possibly with a few key components removed?) to get around the restriction. Seems about right because then it wouldn't strictly be a bicycle; would that work?

 

[kieron]

I've heard that it's possible to put a cycle in a sufficiently bag to enclose it (possibly with a few key components removed?) to get around the restriction. Seems about right because then it wouldn't strictly be a bicycle; would that work?

It's supposed to work, although I don't know how they'd react to someone walking up to the barriers carrying this. If you remove the wheels and mudguards (if any) from a bicycle, the resulting package is much easier to carry and store, even if it is still rather bulky.

More importantly, there aren't likely to be enough people trying to board trains with bikes in bags to make much difference to how packed a train is. As such, the TOCs don't need to care about it.

 

[island]

So does this ban apply to travelling outside of London? For example I'm travelling on the Tonbridge-Ashford line during the Olympics and need to take my bike but I'm not going anywhere near London.

Apparently yes.

 

[maniacmartin]

I used to commute with a bicycle against the peak commuter flow on FGW HSTs. The guards' vans were invaluable. It really is a shame that so much of our train stock does not have sufficient storage space for bicycles (or other big luggage it seems at times). This really shows a lack of joined-up thinking with respect to public transport.

I'd happily pay extra to take my bicycle on the train, but only if the train has proper facilities and my bicycle doesn't end up wedged behind 4 others so I can't get it off easily.

Another thing that annoys me is that it isn't always obvious where on the platform you should stand when you're boarding with a bicycle, and which door to use. There is a distinct lack of signage. Station staff also sometimes don't know, especially if the station is served by multiple TOCs or types of train. I remember when visiting Denmark, marking like this http://www.copenhagenize.com/2010/12/bicycle-pumps-on-copenhagen-trains.html were really handy, as you could actually see which door to use from the other end of the platform.

 

[user15681]

So does this ban apply to travelling outside of London? For example I'm travelling on the Tonbridge-Ashford line during the Olympics and need to take my bike but I'm not going anywhere near London.

Yes. It applies to all train services in and out of London. If the train you're getting on started in London or is heading to London, you can't travel with your bike.
However, It's not yet known how strict Southeastern guards will be on this, you might want to try your luck seeing as you're not going near London and the train shouldn't be too full between Tonbridge and Ashford.