Intermodality Problems for Cyclists

[palinurus]

I used to use a Brompton, mainly for infrequent hops across London and Paris.

Now both have a hire bike scheme I don't bother.

I also use the train to get a full-size bike to places to ride or to race. Some trains are good, some are poor. I choose where I go based on the type of rolling stock in use and necessity to book in advance, if it is somewhat inconvenient I don't travel.

 

[growingvegetables]

I think my initial advice would be to stick to Austria! The idea of a properly integrated transport system doesn't translate into English.

+1


Problems for cycle commuters - +1001

1. Most trains (not all - depends on the rolling stock and the company) take only two bikes - and most companies reserve the right not to take any bikes at all at busy commuting times ----------------- DUUUH!
2. "Integrating" cycle use with trains around W Yorkshire has spawned loads of cycle racks at stations. So I can cycle to Cross Gates station, lock my bike securely to a rack there, take the train to Halifax station .......................... ah, but how do I get to my final destination if my bike's locked up at a station 20 miles away! ------------------- DUUUH!
3. "Integrating" cycle and bus use generally means no more than having cyclists and buses share the same bus lanes. Yup - the smallest and most vulnerable vehicles sharing exactly the same space as the biggest vehicles, and those most pressured to keep to timetables. A recipe for ... "frustration" for both sets of users. ------------------- DUUUH!
4. There are a VERY few bus services which can carry bikes - but ONLY in small parts of tourist areas, way out in the rural hinterland; no ****** use for cycle commuters. And even those are disappearing. ------------------- DUUUH!
5. "Integrating" cyclists with other road users generally means short sections of badly designed and inadequate cycle "lanes" painted on the road - but ONLY in areas where the maximum flow of motor vehicles is not disrupted. In other words - squeezing two inadequately wide lanes for ALL vehicles takes priority over a single lane for motors + an adequately wide cycle lane. ------------------- DUUUH!

West Yorkshire (and the UK) has

- independent rail companies who ONLY plan to maximise their passenger revenue;

- independent bus companies who ONLY plan to maximise passenger revenue;

- road and town planners who are ONLY interested in designing and building for maximised motorised vehicle flow rates, whatever the inefficiency;

- a very noisy and powerful road transport lobby for the lorries and logistics industries;

- and a very vociferous motorists' lobby, who basically don't give a tuppennyworth for anything but their "right" to enjoy the phantasmagorical dreams the silly suckers fell for in the adverts.




Oh - and then there's the cyclists and pedestrians who suffer the consequences. T'aint IT we need.

 

[Zoiders]

The answers already exist.

The struggle is forcing it upon the transport, infra structure and service providers which in this country is going to require legislation.

IMHO we have actually taken a step backwards, at least an old intercity train had a proper guards van which you could transport anything up to a motorbike in. These days it's lip service badly planned out storage which seemingly can only be accessed through booking arangements contrived to make life dificult for cyclists in an effort to discourage them, some of which even clashes with disabled access.

Bikes storage or wheel chair access but not both?

Which genuis thought of that one?

 

[dellzeqq]

well, hang on there...

Vera, there is a man who knows more about intermodal or multimodal travel in the UK than any other person. He's got a complete library of intermodal travel from around the world. He is none other than Dave Holladay - the one with the beard on the right

http://www.cyclerail.com/pages/images_awards/2008_images/image_06_2008.html

and he can be contacted via the CTC - address below

Dave has persuaded rail companies to install cycle parking at stations, particularly London termini. His line is that every rubbish bicycle chained to a rack in a station is a season ticket. And that's why you see hundreds of bikes at London's mainline stations, waiting over night and through the weekend for their owners to come in to town, to strap their cases to a bike that is so poor it's really not worth stealing, and then cycle a couple of miles to the office.

• dave.holladay@ctc.org.uk
  
  

 

[Vera]

Thank you for responses and sharing your ideas - everything you have mentioned is worthwhile for my research!
Dellzeqq, thanx for providing a reference! I will definetely contact Dave

 

[TheSandwichMonster]

What would be nice, would be if train companies would provide us "Season Tickets" with a simpler method of booking bike places on trains. And then come up with some method of effectively enforcing them. It's no wonder that people don't bother with reservations when you have to spend 20 minutes in a queue to book a free ticket for your cycle reservation that is pretty much ignored anyway.

 

[Zoiders]

What would be nice, would be if train companies would provide us "Season Tickets" with a simpler method of booking bike places on trains. And then come up with some method of effectively enforcing them. It's no wonder that people don't bother with reservations when you have to spend 20 minutes in a queue to book a free ticket for your cycle reservation that is pretty much ignored anyway.

Not on at all I am afraid especially on busy routes.

What you are asking for is the right to a space 365 days a year at the expense of other cyclists, which it would most certainly become as the rail providers would simply start charging for them - excluding all but the well off from rail travel with a bike.

 

[jefmcg]

I used to use a Brompton, mainly for infrequent hops across London and Paris.

Now both have a hire bike scheme I don't bother.

I use a folder for commuting across London. When the Boris bikes started, I wondered if I'd regret my purchase. No. There are queues at Waterloo every morning. When I tried to get on in the City after 7 I had to walk a mile to find one, and there was another person at the same rack as me, he missed out as I took the last one. Most recently I took one to Trafalgar Square on a Friday night. It took me half an hour to find a park for it, after a 10 minute journey.

They're great for taking tourist to the British Museum on a Sunday, though.

 

[John Cieslik-Bridgen]

I'm an intermodal (car, bicycle, train, bicycle) commuter with a substantial commute in Poland. Huge advantage for me over the UK is that you can take a bike on any train in Poland (even in rush hour). That's a big plus. On the downside, you have to pay - not much, about a pound in UK money each way. But that includes my folder (which doesn't seem entirely fair, as it takes up less room than many peoples' luggage).

I can take my bike in to my workplace - big plus, there's a problem here with cycle crime. My employer has showers - another plus.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

I use a folder for commuting across London. When the Boris bikes started, I wondered if I'd regret my purchase. No. There are queues at Waterloo every morning. When I tried to get on in the City after 7 I had to walk a mile to find one, and there was another person at the same rack as me, he missed out as I took the last one. Most recently I took one to Trafalgar Square on a Friday night. It took me half an hour to find a park for it, after a 10 minute journey.

Pretty much why I've given up on Boris and now own a Bromton