Bike cages come to Belconnen and Gungahlin

How come people get to wait outside pretty much exposed to all weathers while bikes get a snug little shed?

While it is nice to know that some bureaucrat has such a caring approach to the welfare and security of bikes, it is a pity commuters are not held in the same esteem.

ACT Government – caring for your bike, but not for you.

johnboy said :

If your margins are so thin an $80 cost is crippling then frankly you need to URGENTLY re-structure your life.

I take your point on the cost of a bike, but on a side note, some people’s margins are that thin. Or much thinner. Some families are making decisions about whether to buy groceries or pay the electricity bill, and so definitely don’t have $80 to spare!

johnboy said :

Also anyone too disabled to ride a bike likely already has access to community transport (wheelchair taxis etc)

Yes, well. Only in theory.

Also anyone too disabled to ride a bike likely already has access to community transport (wheelchair taxis etc)

You can get a running bike from the R-Shop in mitchell for $20.

Or if you’re willing to do some work to get it running you can have one from groups like rat patrol for free.

The functional cost of a bicycle in 2011 is as near to zero as makes no difference.

Yes there are ongoing costs, but compared to the bus, or god help you a car, they are also as close to zero as makes no difference.

If your margins are so thin an $80 cost is crippling then frankly you need to URGENTLY re-structure your life.

Davo111 said :

Eby, you can get a bike from BigW for $80-120 these days, so its a reasonable investment.

You can’t assume that everyone has a spare $80 – $120 to be able to buy a bike, for starters. Half the people on the bus may be well-off public servants that can afford this; but I’m sure the other half are there because they don’t have their own cars – and therefore may not be able to afford a bike for themselves. But I’m also thinking of people who are disabled, who physically can’t ride bikes; but for whom the bus stops may be too far away from where they live…

I ride the 10 clicks in most days but bus the others (rain, or just stuffed). But as I said to the transport staff when they brought news of these sheds to our meeting, people would prefer lockers. With a shed you’ve still got to strip lights, pump, etc off your bike and carry them plus helmet on the bus. A pain. If you’re taking a child to school or daycare first you also need to separately lock up the child seat.

If you have a locker you just pop the whole lot in and you’re off.

There’s a reason they’ve used lockers right through every train station in South East Queensland. They work. I’ll bet they are a damn sight cheaper than this shed too.

Be interesting to see how many people lift their bikes up onto those hangers too. I would think the sorts of people who would do this are the ones who ride the whole way.

From the looks of the application form, there is no obligation on anyone who is issued a swipe card to actually use their parking spot, and to be using buses from that interchange. If TAMS are going to give out just 24 cards and put everything on the waiting list, I think it should be incumbent on the recipients to be using the cage at least a certain number of times a week. Linking to their MyWay account will enable this, as Action have said they will do for Park and Ride tickets.

Otherwise, this becomes an attractive “just in case” option for people who rarely ride, or usually ride all the way. Or it becomes useful secure parking for people who work at Belco (or other future venues) but would otherwise have to park their bikes in the open.

Bluey, i’d think it was designed for those people who live far away from a “main bus route”, but work very close to the civic interchange. There isn’t much point taking your bike the whole way into town, particularly when there is no guarantee there will be a spare rack on the bus when it pulls up.

Eby, you can get a bike from BigW for $80-120 these days, so its a reasonable investment.

I dont like the idea of having the bike racks so close to the bus stop. All i can imagine is bikes getting damaged/leaned on by people waiting for the bus.

I can see how they’d be useful for someone like me who is nowhere near fit enough to ride into civic, but would be very interested in riding to a station that may access a faster bus route than my local neighbourhood wanderer route.

Bluey said :

I dont understand the point of these?

You ride to the busstop, lock up your bike and ride the bus into town?

Its faster to ride than bus not to mention free. Most busses have bike carriers on the front now so you can bring it with you if you want to do both riding and bussing. Am I missing some crucial improvement?

It is considerably less physical effort to ride to the bus stop than to ride to your destination as well as being considerably more comfortable if it is cold/hot or wet. Also I suspect an empty bike carrier on a bus during peak travel times is a pretty rare sight.

I don’t get it either. Is it because the bus stops are too far away for some people to walk to?

If that is the case, then I don’t really see how this is a solution for those people that don’t have / can’t afford / can’t ride bikes?

I dont understand the point of these?

You ride to the busstop, lock up your bike and ride the bus into town?

Its faster to ride than bus not to mention free. Most busses have bike carriers on the front now so you can bring it with you if you want to do both riding and bussing. Am I missing some crucial improvement?