The BBC has posted archive footage to Twitter from 37 years ago today of cyclists using their bicycles to block the entrance to British Rail’s head office in protest at bikes being banned from rush-hour trains.
In the footage from 2 January 1980, one of the cyclists says: “We believe that it’s absolute insanity to have this ban imposed now at a time of energy shortage when in fact commuting with your bicycle on the train is the most efficient way to go to work.”
Not exactly Hell’s Angels but these cyclists gave British Rail hell #OnThisDay in 1980 after they introduced a partial bike ban. pic.twitter.com/wU5hyUsXwk
— BBC Archive (@BBCArchive) January 2, 2017
The BBC reporter points out that British Rail were “a trifle embarrassed” at the demonstration, given that two years earlier they had encouraged people to take bicycles on trains by allowing them to be carried free of charge.
Nowadays, of course, it’s the norm for non-folding bicycles to be banned at busy times – and even when it’s quieter, advance reservations for them are required by franchise holders such as Great Western Railway.
Meanwhile, the mass cycle parking put in place at stations such as Cambridge by Abellio Greater Anglia reflects the Dutch-owned company’s desire to shift commuting cyclists who use the train towards the Netherlands model of not taking a bike on the train at all.
For those heading to London at least, that’s easier now due to the Santander Cycles scheme which means they can leave their own bike at the station, take the train, then complete their journey on a hire bike.
19 thoughts on “Video: “Insanity” – cyclists protest British Rail bike ban 37 years ago today”
They were ahead of their time
They were ahead of their time with the beards too.
This is a timely reminder of
This is a timely reminder of the last time we found ourselves at the start of a severe swing of political power to the far right (now redefined as centre ground.) Before the Public Order Act of 1986 and the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act of 1994 made such obstruction and unnotified protests illegal. And the results speak for themselves…
I wonder what we’ll be looking back on having been banned in a few decades time? Anonymous commenting on the Internet perhaps? Riding bicycles, anywhere other than in designated heritage cycle parks, where they could slow down self-driving cars?
handlebarcam wrote:
The far right?
What on earth are you on about?
By this rationale Russia and the former USSR should be some cycling Utopia, guess what? They aren’t.
In case you had not noticed The supposed “right wing” Mayor of London that just left the position had implemented the greatest period of construction of dedicated cycling infrastructure that London has ever seen. In comparison the “left wing” newly installed mayor has done nothing but cancel the Westway cycle path construction.
The longer people like you continue to see the furthering of the cause of cycling and the provision of dedicated infrastructure as a purely a party political matter the longer it will take to increase the consensus that is it needed. You do us all a disservice. Open your eyes and your mind.
Terrorists. None of them are
Terrorists. None of them are wearing helmets.
Of course Beeching had shown earlier that the best way to deal with the whole issue was not to exclude bicycles from the railways, but to exclude trains from them, and give the tracks to the bearded weirdoes, reserving town centre roads for decent people and their Ford Anglias.
Spelling mistakes in the link
Spelling mistakes in the link from the home page. Up-to-date news from the 1980s. Use of the Americanism, to protest something. Everything we have come to know and…know from road.cc 😉
HarrogateSpa wrote:
I agree with the spirit of the post but must protest this point. Protest as a verb was used in Latin, which gave rise to its English, French, Italian and Spanish descendants (which also use protest as a verb).
davel wrote:
I don’t believe HarrogateSpa was protesting against the use of protest as a verb, but was protesting against the sentence structure:
US: protest BR bike ban
UK: protest against BR bike ban
Here in Scotland Abellio’s
Here in Scotland Abellio’s desire to keep bike off trains is damaging the developing cycle tourism industry, maybe it is time to blockade Abellio’s offices…
Kim wrote:
Some irony here in that Abellio is the the renamed Dutch National Railway Company. From what I’ve seen, the bike policy documents of the rail companies simply provides an excuse to not provide any service when bikes are involved. Rolling stock funded by the taxpayer should include bike carrying capacity – huge gap not reognised by the Ministry for Transport.
The goat wrote:
Some irony here in that Abellio is the the renamed Dutch National Railway Company. From what I’ve seen, the bike policy documents of the rail companies simply provides an excuse to not provide any service when bikes are involved. Rolling stock funded by the taxpayer should include bike carrying capacity – huge gap not reognised by the Ministry for Transport.
— Kim
road.cc should really go review the bike and go approach of Abellio to see if its fit for purpose, rather than rely on the glossy pictures of Cambridge or Chelmsford, theres alot of East Anglia fit for cycling around that bike&go simply doesnt and wont cater for. its simply a scheme to keep bikes off trains because they take up space you can squeeze people in, how it gets lauded as a solution to cycling I dont know as Ive never seen a single bike&go bike being used.
dont forget Greater Anglia serves Harwich, which links via a ferry to Holland, and lots of european cyclists do often enjoy cycling touring to this country,so they get to Harwich and get told ah but you need to follow the dutch model of leaving your bike at home to use a train….
and Im not looking forward to the new generation of Abellio trains, as I suspect even less cycling storage will be provided.
Off-peak provision’s pretty
Off-peak provision’s pretty bloody patchy too. Had the dubious pleasure of getting the recumbent – and only a 2-wheeler – onto one of the higher speed things with 3 bike bays/wheel ‘supports’ next to the loos a month or so back, going north from Guildford. Just as well there was only one other bike there, a 3rd (or mine) would have been in the corridor walkway, I’d guess less than welcome with a trolley service :/ Not to mention a bugger to get on/off around a corner into the space, just as well I’m able-bodied apart from a f***ed neck.
Oh, and Santander don’t have hire recumbents, but I’m sure you knew that…
Parking your bike at a
Parking your bike at a railway station in the 1970s attracted a hefty fee, nearly equal to what it cost to park a car.
Sir George Young pointed out the lunacy of such a policy in a parliamentary debate and the fees were – eventually – dropped.
Carlton Reid wrote:
Lefties eh! 😉
I’m not sure whether I’m
I’m not sure whether I’m protesting or protesting against your interpretation…
davel wrote:
Methinks thou dost protest too much 🙂
Incidentally, I thought the
Incidentally, I thought the only place you saw one of those “reflective” bandolier/belt numbers (like the guy in the photo is wearing) these days was in the HC illustrations, until I saw an old chap wearing one just before christmas (trouser leg tucked into sock too) — the nostalgia trip fair warmed my cockles.
Zjtm231, China? Before it
Zjtm231, China? Before it started it’s recent market economy?
ktache wrote:
Yes absolutely.
Circa 1961 when Mao’s reforms had killed up to 55 million people and most people couldn’t even afford a bicycle, oh and the roads were all dirt anyway….
Like I said; stop looking at cycling in a left vs right political perspective otherwise all your thoughts about it will be bound up in the political kaleidoscope you gaze at the world through.
You seem to come up with a
You seem to come up with a great deal of politics before telling the rest of us not to.
And I didn’t say that china was great, just that you didn’t seem to pick the communist state that did use a lot of bicycles.