Buses in West of England to get trailers for bikes?

I think that must be the most comprehensive reply to news story on here I've ever read. If I an correct in understanding you, I too believe that in the UK probably bike storage will only work inside the bus. Is there the political will or financial imperitive to reduce seat numbers to accommodate this? Or like you say workable specialist buses at certain times?

Are there any existing designs from abroad with inner storage?

I've been taking bikes on buses since 1986 - when Clause 7(d) of SMT conditions of carriage allowed for bikes to be carried - in the boot locker of the rural single deckers, up to 4 bikes o a 49-seater.

Prior to Bikes on Buses.com taking over the promotion of the US-made racks, I was importing them, and using them on the back of buses, with the US maker unwilling to accept that DfT (and EU) would not bend their regulations, in the same way that US states would when pressured by a lobby group, or manufacturer.

To be fair the DfT(then DETR) did support crash testing (by TRRL) of bike racks on the front of 2 'sample' PSV's to the exacting standards of ENCAP - the ONLY crash tests of any large commercial vehicle to the 20-year old car safety standards. The report on this also analysed bus-pedestrian collisions, far more common in the UK and Europe than the US, where a) pedestrians are rare on the roads used by buses with bike racks and b) pedestrian  safety has a perceived lower priority. One clearly relevant detail is that on a per vehicle per year basis in the UK buses have the highest pedestrian hit-rate, although HGV's have a higher kill per hit by a ratio of around 4:1 from my last recollection of figures. All this was summed up in TRL report 592, which I think remains as a free download.

There were some US incidents with the front mounted racks, including at least one fatality, and the TRL testing provided some interesting results, not least on the impact points, at knee and eye level  for a deployed rack with a bike on. It was also worth noting that some US operations, did not allow cycle carriage on racks downtown, as the extra length of the buses reduced the number of buses that could pull in at busy bus stops, and the hazard of cyclists stepping out to load bikes was better moved to where the buses began the faster/freeway running part of the route.

Having looked at all options for bike on bus (and coach), I've concluded that bikes inside buses, and in the hold space of coaches, is the way to deliver this, as it has been informally (and formally) for the past 20 years, with a growing number of bus services delivering this on a daily basis, with no reported problems. Rear racks and trailers are fine for a dedicated (group) bus service but the huge penalty of 40-60 seconds added to the dwell time at a bus stop, plus the security issues, and the likely need for the driver to leave the cab (and ticket machine/cash) to load the bike(s) makes this untenable for a service bus route

The fact that the law requires all service bus routes to be operated by low floor 'roll-on' buses by 2020, means that 100% we can try-out cycle carriage on a nunber of pilot routes. I can see the option to allow bikes on late night services that avoid deterrent detail of riding on unlit rural roads with fast moving motor traffic, or uphill out of Bristol or Bath late at night. Positioning trips too - where a bus based in town has to travel out empty to collect commuters and school kids, and return empty at night, ideal for a cycling day out.

Expect some interesting developments this year, both on buses and express coaches - especially  in Scotland, and note that even where bikes could not be stood upright in the undefloor hold (on a 3.2 metre high 49-seat coach) 35 bikes were loaded on for a private cycling club charter. With a luxury 3.7-3.9m coach, bikes will fit in vertically, and a de-seated 'luxury ' spec coach (with table seating, full catering galley, fully reclining seats etc) can deliver group travel without the need for a 90Km/h truck chasing the 100Km/h coach.

One route to lobby for in London is to get bikes on the 108/N108 between North Greenwich and  Bow (through the Blackwall Tunnel) - with a bus every 6 minutes at peak times.  

Modern ticket machines also help here, as they can provide the driver with advance notice of cyclists expectng to board and send notification of spaces taken - with the same system also 'booking on' wheelchair users.

Ultimately the delivery of a 'reborn' version of the Devon Bike Buses can be delivered, by operaring a 2-door bus with one part of the saloon set-out to carry bikes and the other with seats. The Devon buses had 21 seats (with perhaps 4 or 8 standing?) and space for 9 bikes, enough seats for a typical rural bus service with say an 8-9m bus but with the extra length (and the 11.3m bus) used for bikes.

Ironically it was the prices that First Western National quoted for MOT repairs (they were already secondhand from Hartlepool, with the seaside effects of salt enhanced corrosion) and the operating costs of the bus for the next season, which exceeded the funding available from Devon County Council to support the operation, and the buses were sold to the Bus Museum at Winkleigh, where at least one was repaired, and used as a travelling exhibition - downgraded from a public bus to a large motor car (with less than 8 seats!)

Picture - Devon Bike Bus at Salisbury Cycle Conference - a long way from home in Ilfracombe(at 50mph top speed)

Surely racks are better than a trailer (as witnessed in the rest of the world) and just as secure if locks are used (which you would need in a trailer too)?

First giving a monkeys about bicycles? Did I accidentally walk into some parallel universe??