Bike Rack Success?

How many bus runs are there a day? Potentially two bikes per bus adds up to an awful lot I would have thought.

toadstool said :

I used the bike rack on a bus out of the city last week and the bus driver was incredibly angry that I would dare to use the rack on his bus. How unprofessional is that? If he is not happy with the system, maybe it s time he looked at a career change, as I think they are here to stay with racks being rolled out to all buses in the near future, not just the expresses.

Grumpy bus driver is a time honoured tradition handed down from generation to generation. It is part of their training.

bd84 said :

I doubt the figures can be backed up reliably anyway, the only way is a guess based on drivers say so, since the riders are not required to validate a ticket…

You are partly right. People with bikes don’t have to validate a ticket, but they are issued a ticket, so their patronage is recorded.

It’s a good idea, and I’d use it if there were some sort of guarantee that every bus had it (or at least the bus I needed to use). When I last used it, not even every intertown bus had the rack though so it became too time inefficient.

Pity too, if the Fyshwick bus had bike racks I’d never have to drive to work.

We remain unconvinced that two bikes per bus is the foundation of a true multi-modal system.

I’d say the original introduction of bike racks with the capacity of only 2 bikes was a smart idea, as a pilot you could say. There is just no winning it would seem. The low scale pilot probably copped s**t for the proposal in the first place, but now it’s seen as a successful idea, it’s copping more of the same because they didn’t outlay more funds on a service that “might” work.

I think it’s great that we have another facility in our city to cater for all if they choose. While it’s another point for those motorists who seem to hate cyclists to add to their list, I’m assuming their lack of comments on this post is because they don’t care, as long as “we” are not riding on “their” roads. Instead, it’s probably widening the hatred for cyclists into the public transport commuter community now.

If there are people cheap enough to go to the trouble of carting their old bikes around to save $2.20 a trip on a bus, then let them have their money (and that’s coming from a tightwad) – they need it more than you I say. That’s unless I decide to use the bike racks legitimately, then I’d consider throwing your bike off the rack so I can use it if they were full.

If I choose to start using this bike rack option, I;d be more than happy to pay the regular fare. You might find that it’s the long term plan anyway – but enticing people to help test the bike rack option with a free ride seems like another smart move.

As for the honking s**tty bus driver situation, I’d be getting their rego or driver number and smacking it not only on here, but to ACTION as well. They should be formally disciplined for giving a bad reputation to a service which already struggles as it is to get commuters using it.

Sorry to happy to write and not check – They do not accept kids bike and alert you by hammering their horn..

Two bike rake system is shit… They do not accept kids bike and they this to you normally with a hammering of the horn… It is real nice to have done to you when you have you child standing there wondering why the bus driver is abusing their mother!

Jonathon Reynolds said :

miz said :

Also, I am expecting ‘incidents’ over the bike racks in the near future [remember, you saw it here first!]

Actually it is amazing how quiet Pedal Power have gone on their campaign to ban “Bull & Roo bars” since the Government started fitting bike racks on buses. I guess they didn’t want to be caught out as a pot calling the kettle black.

That doesn’t make sense at all.

What are you trying to say?

I used the bike rack on a bus out of the city last week and the bus driver was incredibly angry that I would dare to use the rack on his bus. How unprofessional is that? If he is not happy with the system, maybe it s time he looked at a career change, as I think they are here to stay with racks being rolled out to all buses in the near future, not just the expresses.

miz said :

Also, I am expecting ‘incidents’ over the bike racks in the near future [remember, you saw it here first!]

Actually it is amazing how quiet Pedal Power have gone on their campaign to ban “Bull & Roo bars” since the Government started fitting bike racks on buses. I guess they didn’t want to be caught out as a pot calling the kettle black.

bd84 said :

I doubt the figures can be backed up reliably anyway, the only way is a guess based on drivers say so, since the riders are not required to validate a ticket. Not that the ticket system is reliable anyway.

When a cyclist boards the bus driver records it in the ticket machine

bd84 said :

I also fail to see how it’s helping anything, other than take away fares that could be used to improve services

Seeing as there are only two bike slots, and they are not always used, the reduction in fares is negligible

bd84 said :

Also why bother riding a bike if you’re just going to the bus stop? It’s like parking your car at the shops, riding your bike down to the shops loading the bike in the back and driving to work. Rather pointless really.

Have you considered the scenario where someone does not have shower facilities at work, and thus they take their bike on the bus in the morning and then ride home in the evening?
Or rather than wait for the local service (and risk missing it/not show up/etc), ride to an interchange and then bus it the rest of the way?

The bike racks enable a lot of flexibility that may otherwise cause people to not ride or even catch the bus at all

miz said :

Also, I am expecting ‘incidents’ over the bike racks in the near future [remember, you saw it here first!] How daft is it to have space for only two bikes? Better to have none at all than this. *sigh* It appears that another purportedly ‘reasonable’ ideological decision has had a daft outworking . . .

I don’t really see how you could really fit more bikes onto the front of a bus, nor can I follow the logic that it’d be better to not have this facility at all