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news
York Aerial view.jpgYork cyclist ‘flabbergasted’ at not being allowed to take bike on bus
A York cyclist has questioned why bikes are not permitted on buses in the city, pronouncing the policy ‘ludicrous’. After being turned away by drivers from two different bus companies, Louise Pinkney was forced to walk her bike into the city for repairs.
Pinkney’s car had a broken exhaust, but when she tried to take her road bike into town for repairs last week, she was turned away from both First York's number 12 and Coastliner's 843 at Askham Bar.
She told the York Press that she was ‘flabbergasted’ by the policy.
"York is a cycling city and people are being urged not to use cars. We are one of the biggest cycling cities in the country and we can't take them on buses. It's ludicrous.
"The fact is, if you don't have a car and you need your bike fixed, how are you supposed to get into York? I'm absolutely flabbergasted people aren't allowed to take bikes on the bus."
Pinkney said she could have stood with the bike in the baggage area of the Coastliner, but was told that wasn’t allowed due to health and safety reasons. "I offered to get off the bus if someone got on with a pram but the driver didn't let me."
The First York website states simply: “Due to space and safety considerations, standard non-folding bicycles cannot be carried on our buses.” Folding bikes are permitted, provided they do not block the aisle and are not too dirty.
A Coastliner spokesman expressed similar sentiments:
"Unfortunately, owing to space constraints on buses we are unable to convey any large or bulky items for reasons of customer safety.
"We cannot permit the aisle to be blocked or restricted as this may prevent people being able to leave the bus quickly in an emergency situation, and there is a risk of pedals and handlebars causing direct injury to other passengers getting on or off.
"We are able to carry folding bicycles in carry-cases and other items such as suitcases safely in our luggage racks however.”
In 2011, a man suffering from cerebral palsy was prevented from getting on a Stagecoach bus in Cambridge because the folding bike he uses to get around was not in a bag. Paul Norman had taken the bus into Cambridge from Bury St Edmunds carrying his bicycle, but when he came to make the return journey he was told he would not be permitted to board with the bicycle out of a bag.
Stagecoach East subsequently apologised to Norman, saying that while it was a requirement that folding bikes be put in a carrying case, common sense should have been exercised by its staff.
In May, Edinburgh trams ran a trial to see whether it was feasible to carry bikes at off-peak times. An average number of 12 cyclists a day rode the city’s tram line during the trial and after two months, it was considered a success. The Edinburgh News reports that bikes are now permitted on trams except for between the hours of 7.30am and 9.30am and between 4pm and 6.30pm. They will also not be permitted from August 7-31 due to the Edinburgh Festival.
Alex has written for more cricket publications than the rest of the road.cc team combined. Despite the apparent evidence of this picture, he doesn't especially like cake.
Latest Comments
- Surreyrider 2 sec ago
Not so long ago you could get Muc Off for £12 in one of the many sales - £30 is off the scale ridiculous greedflation in action.
- john_smith 10 min 26 sec ago
Maybe you should have started off by saying a group of people had tried to murder you. Then plod might have understood the seriousness of the...
- quiff 27 min 22 sec ago
Also, she's 12! But agree with the sentiment
- Bungle_52 1 hour 41 min ago
I was implying that if Southport were still in Lancashire then this would have beene NFA and the driver would carry on putting cyclists lives in...
- Sriracha 1 hour 51 min ago
Haha, try floating that notion in The Torygraph!
- David9694 2 hours 2 min ago
Where's Cycling Mikey when you need him??
- Rendel Harris 2 hours 5 min ago
A good summation of her attitudes from Peter Walker here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/bike-blog/2023/jul/20/londons-to...
- giff77 2 hours 44 min ago
A friend of mine who immigrated here from a commonwealth country also happened to drive for the military. When sitting his hazard test he was...
- Hirsute 2 hours 50 min ago
"Corten steel. Lovely rusty sharp edges to scratch your lovely bike."...
- brooksby 3 hours 43 min ago
So even the market for bikes which don't can't ever leave the house is tanking?
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43 comments
Does any bus service in the UK allow bikes?
Yes, some, particularly in rural areas - if you mean unbagged bikes. Most coaches will take bagged bikes in the hold.
Got a bus in Dorset with a bike - just outside of Blandford to Shaftesbury.
To be honest, it doesn't surprise me in the least. Most buses don't have a lot of room onboard, and bikes are large ands awkward (heck, some cyclists are large and awkward
)
Anyway, York isn't exactly a large city. From Askhar Bar park and ride to the Minster is less than 3 miles.
Erm, there's no space on a bus?
What's so difficult for her to grasp here?
Ideally we should do like they do in Vancouver and have bike racks that can be swung down in to use on the front of a bus to carry up to 2 bikes.
It's not safe in the event of a collision, and therefore - I understand - prohibited by EU regulations. I don't think I've seen any of these racks in the EU, unlike in North America.
There are plenty of examples in the EU where bikes can be taken on the bus including the rack front model (as quoted from Vancouver, also used in parts of Germany), the rack back model (bikes hanging off the back of the bus) and the bike trailer model (used one in Italy).
EU regulation might prohibit straight bananas but not bikes on buses in various forms.
(and just to be absolutely correct - the EU does not prohibit straight bananas either...)
Where in Germany? I'm curious, as I've read a few times that EU law prevents it (but I am neither an expert on EU law or German buses).
Bath has just had its attempts to install front-of-bus racks blocked:
http://cyclebath.org.uk/2015/06/04/front-of-bus-cycle-racks-the-dvsa-say...
I love the quote from this article:
'When there is concern over the visibility issues the bikes may cause... but the DVSA allow HGVs on our roads.'
Bike racks are not used on the front of any buses in the EU as they completely fail the basic requirements of C&U regulations in several ways - most notable in the serious hazard of forward facing parts of the bike, over which there is no control to avoid edges that are too sharp (min radius permitted 2.5mm) and lined up to core out an injury at adult eye height (handlebar).
I've used buses to carry bikes since 1986 when the official SMT Conditions of Carriage had Clause 7(d) which specifically stated that bikes would be carried on the appropriate vehicles.
I imported the first Sportworks racks to the UK in 1996, and after reviewing the issues noted we did use them on the rear of buses, and inside buses. At the rear they got filthy, and cost at least 40 seconds in dwell time to load, plus offering easy pickings for a bike thief any time that the bus stopped moving.
Sportworks had pressurised many states to amend their C&U regulations to get widespread use of the racks based on an earlier unit made by Mobilis for the 1990 bike on bus service in Phoenix AR, and thought that they only needed to apply the same techniques to the UK and Europe, where pedestrian activity is far higher, and pedestrian lives valued more than in the US - hence a greater concern for pedestrian safety.
In the US the move to low floor step free access buses lags well behind the UK and Europe. Since 1999 no new buses can be sold which are not ro-ro low floor and the aim is to have the entire UK service bus parc 'accessible' by 2020. Officially and unofficially bikes are being carried inside these buses, ideally a 'conversion' will include a securing system and protection of the interior of the bus from pedals and handlebars bashing around, but with a low floor fleet you can start cycle carriage tomorrow at minimal cost and fuss to try out the idea and see if a formal delivery is possible.
Stagecoach, for all their ills, run a service in the lake district that can take some bikes on a rack at the back http://www.golakes.co.uk/travel/New-Bike-Bus.aspx
There's also a ferry service that runs from Brock Hole to Wray Castle that specifically takes bikes. https://www.windermere-lakecruises.co.uk/cruises-fares/bike-boat/
A pity the bike paths tend to be rather shitty and end at the narrowest, twistiest bits of the busiest roads.
Had a similar problem getting home with a crash damaged cycle.
In order to bypass the London Underground, bus and DLR restrictions I removed the wheels, cable-tied them to the frame and wrapped the whole lot up in some cheap wrapping paper.
No-one batted an eyelid. They even opened the luggage gate for me.
The trick is not to break the 'rules' but to bend them as far as possible.
Dave B, I know you want to enjoy your rest day - but don't you have something better to do than hanging out on road.cc?
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