3 December 2007

Free Bus Travel for Cyclists

| Kramer
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In a move which will further enrage the rednecks who think bicycles dominate this town, Comrade Stanhope has announced free bus travel for cyclists travelling on the trunk routes, which are serviced by busses with bike racks. The free busses start from today, meeting one of the objectives outlined in the government’s climate change strategy.

Will we now see tight-wad commuters lining up for the bus with their bike, just to get a free ride? Personally, I think ACTION should provide more frequent, and free services on the bus routes to the top of Mt Stromlo & Mt Ainslie, especially on weekends 😉

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Great idea!

Transport solutions for the future require just this sort of creative thinking

Nothing is wrong with it. It’s a great idea.
I wouldn’t worry too much about what people on here say.

Why do people want to wreck it for others? it’s not often that you get anything free nowadays! I don’t use the service, but I’m glad it’s there if I ever decide to use it! There should be more free stuff, and not less free stuff! What’s wrong with trying to encourage people to leave their cars at home and go green?

Holierthanthou11:11 am 02 Mar 08

Cyclist should pay the same road tax as motorists and they do: none.

There is no road tax, here are some charges that are actually levied:

Fuel excise – excise is subtly different from other taxes. Firstly, it is not levies on the basis of value, but on quantity. Why is this? Excise is frequently imposed to modify behaviour, in this case regulate car transport, aid the environment, reduce imports and to conserve resources. Everybody pays fuels excise either directly or indirectly. Road users pay different amounts of fuel excise: trucks and buses pay a large amount, hybrid card drivers pay a moderate amount, cyclists pay virtually none. It is about your consumption of a product not use of the road. Even non-road users indirectly pay fuel excise as fuel is consumed to produce and deliver goods and services.

Motor vehicle registration – this is imposed for a variety of reasons. It is important that motor vehicles are safe and in good working order. Also it is important that dangerous drivers are accountable for their actions. Bicycles can be safely maintained by a child, unlike a modern vehicle that requires specialist training. Cyclists break road rules far less frequently than car drivers (I see a cyclist run a red light about once a year, I see this weekly at the least by a car driver, I have never seen a cyclist use a mobile phone or speed in a 60km zone….. I could go on). Lots of cyclist d not wear helemts, it is a simple matter to stop and issue fines as cyclists are easy to stop, so no need for plates. Many motorists do not pay motor vehicle registration (e.g. they onlydrive borrowed or shared cars), should they be banned from the road.

Driver Licence Fees: These fees are mainly for the bureacracy and paperwork involved in issuing licences.

I could go on. But the bottomline is that cycling is part of the transport solution for the future. Governments understand the benefits and thus actively encourage rather than discourage cycling.

Also every bike on the road is an extra parking space available for a motorist to use.

Hehehe reminds me of when I was riding the bus once and someone was using the rack. The bus driver went too fast over a speed hump and the rack crunched into the ground on the way down. YOUCH! Glad I didn’t have a bike on that one! But they can only hold two bikes at a time can’t they?

Snahons_scv6_berlina11:43 am 04 Dec 07

“…meeting one of the objectives outlined in the government’s climate change strategy.”

So… instead of giving free fares to all and thus encourage reductions in green house by getting cars off the road, we’ll give poeple who are already taking an alternative (to cars) transport free ride…

yep, all those pollies can feel warm and fuzzy tonight knowing they’re doing their bit (with as little impact on finances as possible).

Vehice rego fees only cover approx 30% of road costs anyway and as Lilli points out, many cyclists are also drivers. (Do you really think they ride because they can’t afford cars and or don’t know how to drive?)

I’m not trying to add fuel to any fire (I can see both sides of the bikes on road vs. not arguments), but as both a cyclist AND a motorist I pay taxes and enjoy the dedicated bike lanes. I’d suggest I’m not the only one. I’d also wonder whether the cost of implementing an extra ‘bicycle’ tax would outweigh the benefits of said tax. ie. how would bikes be ‘registered’? Are all ages expected to pay? So on and so forth.. Some food for thought either way.

Maybe, just maybe, the idea is to try to increase that proportion??

Yeah Thumper – having spent an outrageous amount of ratepayers funds on the unused racks the only option to ensure that they are not seen as a total waste of money is to let bike riders ride for free..

When will Jon realise that bike riders are outnumbered by motorists 10 to 1 and his cowtowing to Pedalpower’s demands will only drive the frustrated motorists – aka ratepayers – to give their vote to someone else – how about the Motorist Party?? I’m just about ready to vote for them..

The only thing good about this is that it get’s the those damn cyclists off our roads. They should never have been given bike lanes to start off with. They should be charging the cyclists a road tax and an extra fee for the cost of bike racks. Why should I have to pay taxes so they get a free bus trip to work and back.

Terrific idea – things that encourage cycling and/or public transport are to be applauded. I’ve only used the racks once (caught a long way from home in the pouring rain), and they’re easy as.

I think you will find the racks will only take full size bikes anything smaller the lock won’t take.

I don’t know why they’re making it free for people with bikes to travel, I think ACTION need the fare more, plus what’s the difference from someone walking to the bus stop? The government is breeding lazy people who can’t be bothered riding all the way?! lol. not that I would ever try riding to work from my place..

Bikes on buses take up room where people can sit and/or stand, they jam pack the buses already since the government cut everything, doubt their new network will fix it either.

All the buses on the 300 routes (intertown route) have the bike racks. They are dead easy to use – don’t be afraid. BTW these same buses all have disabled access – good to know if you’re travelling with your pram, which you can just wheel on. I wonder if I can travel for free if I take my bike and my pram with kids?

I’m dropping my son and his bike to school every morning so he can get a free trip home.

I am grabbing my daugthers trike and taking the bus to work tomorrow. Look out for the one with the sparkly tassels coming in from Gungahlin.

I think this isn’t such a bad idea, although the main reason I haven’t used the racks yet is fear of not being able to use them effectively/quickly enough not to frustrate other commuters.. I’ve never had a close enough look at one to keep these worries at bay so until I get a clear cut demonstration on their ease of use I will probably just stick with riding the whole way!

Ingeegoodbee2:34 pm 03 Dec 07

We must be looking at different buses Thumper – on the southside I rarely see a bus eqipped with a rack that dosn’t have a bike on it.

I have never used one because I have no idea how to find out what buses have them, and all way assumes that the first bus to ever have a full rack would be the one I tried to catch. But something for free….

hmmm – “cyclists” – does a unicycle count? 😉

Word is they’ve ordered quite a number (86 was what I heard) of new buses all equipped with said racks.

The problem with the racks is:

— Insufficient capacity
— Lack of certainty that an equipped bus will be coming by
— Separating rider from property with no collection verification system.

Personally I’d like to see buses have half the seats ripped out and people encouraged to wheel their personal transport on board, just like on the trains.

Not a bad idea I reckon. Can’t see myself using it much….when I ride, I ride the whole way to/from. Still, it’ll be there should I need a rest.

What is wrong with the bus rack idea? I don’t use them myself but a great insurance policy should I be too tired to ride all the way home.

I do think though that now we will see a situation where cyclists will be frustrated and may have to wait as buses go past with both bike racks occupied…

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