Pedal Power ACT calls for bike racks on all buses

Aladdin1963 said :

I find it hatd to understand why these bike racks are supported.

Don’t they pose a danger to bike riders,?

I see them as being far more dangerous than the bullbars that this group are so against.

Just a thought!

No more than the 12 tonne bus behind it……

I find it hatd to understand why these bike racks are supported. Don’t they pose a danger to bike riders,? I see them as being far more dangerous than the bullbars that this group are so against. Just a thought!

thatsnotme said :

Chop71 said :

…. use your pedals and ride the bloody bike.

That’d be my first choice. But sometimes life, and mother nature gets in the way.

The place where I lock up my bike is not secure. I have on occasion found my tyres either deflated and once slashed when I wanted to ride home. The intertown bus (thankfully with rack) was a godsend, but I still ended up having to walk from my closest interchange to the house (20 min walk) because the short-route bus didn’t have a rack and wouldn’t let me on.

It’s that or call friends and beg them to come pick me up.

thatsnotme said :

The question was why they couldn’t mix the bus types up a bit if they couldn’t all have racks, so at least every second or third bus had one. Their response was fairly useless. I’d also asked if they could at least consider mark the timetable to identify buses with racks, in the same way they identify wheelchair accessible buses, but they didn’t bother to even respond to that part of the question.

I completely agree. 80% isn’t a bad hit rate, and if the remaining 20% aren’t fitted due to safety issues then it’s not a bad outcome at all. If we get some kind of indication whether the next bus (or the one after) are capable of transporting bikes then we could at least plan ahead a little.

I don’t see it as that big an issue. I’d rather the money go into better maintenance of the existing infrastructure, like cleaning the paths of debris and glass, and patching up the areas where tree roots have torn up the bitumen.

wildturkeycanoe said :

Chop71 said :

…. use your pedals and ride the bloody bike.

Fully Agree, isn’t the whole point of cycling to get fit, prevent pollution, make friends etc? Don’t be a lazy sod and catch the bus 20km then jump off and pedal the last few hundred metres, raising a sweat in the process and bragging to your peers about what a wonderful day to cycle it is. Remove all bike racks and use the darned 2-wheeled things for which you keep whining for more infrastructure. Maybe the savings on bike racks can go towards your 3 laned super cycling freeways!!!

Come commute with me ofr a week, dare you.

Chop71 said :

…. use your pedals and ride the bloody bike.

Fully Agree, isn’t the whole point of cycling to get fit, prevent pollution, make friends etc? Don’t be a lazy sod and catch the bus 20km then jump off and pedal the last few hundred metres, raising a sweat in the process and bragging to your peers about what a wonderful day to cycle it is. Remove all bike racks and use the darned 2-wheeled things for which you keep whining for more infrastructure. Maybe the savings on bike racks can go towards your 3 laned super cycling freeways!!!

Very Busy said :

The exemption only applies in the ACT. It is therefore illegal to drive the bike rack fitted buses into NSW. ACTION does do some charter work into NSW so this is one argument for not fitting bike racks to 100% of the fleet.

I’m somewhat surprised they don’t just mount bike rack number plates ( http://www.rego.act.gov.au/assets/PDFs/Bike%20Rack%20Plates.pdf ) on the actual rack next to the handle (so when the rack is down, the bike plate is visible). One would expect a $35 plate to be much cheaper than getting written exceptions for all the buses in canberra, and would solve the NSW problem

All ACTION buses that are fitted with a bike rack have an exemption from displaying a front number plate. A copy of the exemption notice must be kept inside the vehicle. Many of these buses have not had a numberplate fitted at all but most of the old buses still have the numberplate fitted even though it is obscured.

The exemption only applies in the ACT. It is therefore illegal to drive the bike rack fitted buses into NSW. ACTION does do some charter work into NSW so this is one argument for not fitting bike racks to 100% of the fleet.

So pedal power thinks it should get its way at the expense of public safety? It’s little wonder people are apprehensive towards cyclists when they come up with bullshit like this just for the sake of it.

The 14.5m buses already operate with an exemption for being over length, and barely fit around most corners, yet these clowns want to make them even longer and a more dangerous?

I can accept fold up bikes on buses as long as they don’t take up space for other passengers, and the racks are a privilege i can live with for those who are either can’t be bothered riding all the way or want to look cool because they can’t get on the bus without bringing something along for the ride. At some point, like this one, someone needs to tell them to sit down and shut up.

KB1971 said :

I am using the car more often now, the new buses seem to be all put on the 319 & now I cant even get a midday bus that will take me & my bike home. On the upside, the 7 series buses have racks now bar a couple but my options have been reduced.

Agreed with the 318 & 319 – the vast majority are steer tag buses that I’ve seen. I actually wrote to ACTION about it, after one afternoon waiting in the Civic Interchange, and having four 3-series buses in a row arrive without racks (all steer-tag). The question was why they couldn’t mix the bus types up a bit if they couldn’t all have racks, so at least every second or third bus had one. Their response was fairly useless. I’d also asked if they could at least consider mark the timetable to identify buses with racks, in the same way they identify wheelchair accessible buses, but they didn’t bother to even respond to that part of the question.

Chop71 said :

…. use your pedals and ride the bloody bike.

That’d be my first choice. But sometimes life, and mother nature gets in the way. Eg, I ride in in the morning, but it’s blowing a gale and raining by the afternoon. Having a way to get my bike home without a car is nice. I see the truly dedicated, riding into the teeth of a gale in driving rain – from a warm seat on the bus. I ride to get fitter and save some money – I’m not training for the Olympics – so I can’t see any reason to punish myself more than I already do. My ride is 14.5km one way, which on a nice spring morning can be lovely, but into a headwind after a long day at work, is far less lovely.