[publictransport] Debate and Dis(unity)- slightly OT but important-Insurance for Bike & Rider as opposed to Rego.

[Rob Eke]

Hi Kerry, all

Addressing rego and insurance for bikes (and ins for riders).

Insurance for bike and rider

is a strong consideration for all riders. It isn't solved by registration.

Bikes can be insured easily, it is a matter of premium, but they are a high
risk item, and when left in a public place invariably get stolen, vandalised
or parts pilfered.
That is why it is difficult to get cover for your bike when left a public
place on your home policy.
The risk is high.

The stats on bikes stolen from stations around Melbourne are horrendous and
the only solution to limit theft is secure out of sight lock up storage. I
mean lockers, not cages.

Cages have been trialled before in Melb and elsewhere, even in Perth they
aren't all that successful, I trust their new methods may have addressed the
issues of weather, access to a wider number of people and vandalism, plus
access in peak items through a single door.

These issues are not new, they have proven impossible to address in trials
in Melb in the past and have been rejected by users.
Only secure lockers are viable to encourage Melbourne riders to leave bikes
at stations, unless the trial can prove the problems have been addressed to
the satisfaction of users.

I have seen massive open air bicycle parking station in Tokyo where
thousands of bikes are left all day by commuters catching the subway to
work, it is cultural for them, as a population they don't steal things.
Similarly in parts of China, they as a population they don't steal, I've had
things stolen when living there and by expats, not the locals).

Sadly in Melbourne people do steal, and its endemic. So we will not address
the cultural, we will only address the security, Lockers are a success, as
was proven in Brisbane.  I have a paper from Alan Parker ( you can have a
copy) on a submission for Federal Funding for Brisbane's lockers, it was
successful and they got an extra 1700 lockers. It addresses all the issues
and the failed Melbourne experiences.

Based on Brisbane's numbers, we need over 4,500 secure lockers here in
Melbourne, (we have around 700), Sydney needs 9,000 ( they have around 500).
When car spaces now cost between $15,000 and $18,000 each at stations for
all day parking by single driving commuters who drive on average less than a
Kilometre to their station it is criminal  that the Government announced in
July 07 it has allocated $90M for 5000 more car spaces in Melbourne, and we
get a lousy trial of a suspect system at two stations and no extra lockers.

BV is pushing the cages as it wants to take over supply and running them
using the new MYKI card (another $500M expense by this govt). They, BV, have
left their taint on the introduction on the bike ban, can we trust them on
these cages?. Think about it!

On personal riding insurance, (apart from existing cover under VTAC and
Workcover which I wont go into here,

for rider's personal injury insurance you can get that now for $45 a year
from Cyclosportif, ( http://www.cyclosportifvic.com.au/page/news.html  )it
is part of Cycle Sports Victoria and Cycling Australia's Insurance for
riders of Cycling Clubs.

Cyclosportif is a recreational cycling club as opposed to a racing club.
They also offer lessons on skills and social rides and activities.

The cover is for 12 months  and covers you for all personal injuries
sustained if injured on a "logged training ride", this can cover you on
rides anywhere as long as you regard them as part of your training and you
write them down, just like you might write down a car mileage log for tax.
You can keep this log on line on many of the web sites (eg: Cycle2Max) or
use the Facebook application on BikeIT, and for the luddites an exercise
book and a pencil will do just as good. We don't need BV's scheme it is
almost twice the cost and isn't any better.

Hope these help you understand the alternatives. None of these involve
registration with a VicRoads type beaurocracy of the Government, and that
keeps them happy as one less thing to worry about and fund.

As for identifying a bike ,

most bikes have a serial number, which you can record, but if not, you can
get an engraver from Police stations to engrave your licence number under
the bottom bracket, and on accessories of value.
If your bike is stolen you can trace its ID back to you when it turns up at
Cash Converters or Bicycle Recycle, as they invariably do. Again this doesn'
t involve a registration and beaurocracy is not in the mix.

Meanwhile Bin The Ban and make PT accessible for all at all times.

Cheers

Rob




-----Original Message-----
From: publictransport-bounces at yarrabug.org
[mailto:publictransport-bounces at yarrabug.org]On Behalf Of Kerry Tait
Sent: Wednesday, 23 January 2008 9:11 AM
To: publictransport at yarrabug.org
Subject: [publictransport] Debate and Dis(unity)

Dear Colleagues,

Reading people's contributions over the past couple of days has been
educative and interesting.

As I suspected, there are lots of people on this list who know a lot about
public transport, cycling and Vic govt history around these issues.

I loved yesterday's Age editorial which said:
"Operating a public transport system requires a visionary approach, not a
reactive spasm." You bet!

To whit:
As a prior bike cage user (in Brisbane where our Uni had one), I can confirm
that they totally work. It was a total relief to know that my
pushie/lights/tires were not going to be nicked or vandalised in an area
where that happened a lot to the unwary.

I also got a pasting from my hubbie about my rego idea! However, I think it
is our right to be properly insured on the roads and currently we are not.
Our bikes are a precious resource are they not? And too many of us limp away
from accidents without being able to do anything about it.

So I think we should embrace all options which make it easy for cyclists to
use train stations. Giving people choices relieves stress and encourages
"well yes, maybe I can ride to work/uni/school"

BV issue lovely maps, organise fun events and have a great website. However
we clearly need a proper lobby group. Are we it? We have a prime opportunity
to have our say with Lynne Kosky.

The writers who've said that the whole process is up the creek, DOI are
petrol heads, new Transport Act etc are almost certainly correct.

However, we have a new Minister in Lynne Kosky. She currently feels a bit of
pressure to do the right thing. There are some practical, doable things she
can have done without too much fuss, which we need done. I think we should
remember that this is not just about us. It's about attracting new people to
commute on their bike as well.

Overall, thematically a transport strategy needs to acknowledge:
1. that cyclists are regular commuters.
2. that train stations are commuter hubs.

Here are the things I think we should ask for straight up:
1. we need bikes back on trains, all trains at all times, immediately.
2. we need to know that we can put our bike in the back carriage or
whatever. And any rules need to be simple.
3. good bike lock up facilities at as many train stations as possible.
4. Metlink website should show us proper bicyle connection to train stations
and if there is a bike cage there. The Metlink journey planner is a good
resource already.
5. we need proper signage on bike tracks which indicates train stations,
major roads etc.
6. we sure as hell need a LOT more street parking U shaped thingys in the
city (and elsewhere) to lock our bikes up to.

And then in the long term.
7. we need more on road bike lanes and bike tracks planned and built.
8. being able to load bike onto front of bus is also a great idea
9. bringing over an expert from WA to help out sounds great. There is no
faster way to get good things done than to acknowledge great work others
have done and use those great ideas.
10. we need proper insurance which formally acknowledges us a road users.

Are there people in the group who are able to get together to lobby Lynne
Kosky?

I hope this helps - I am happy to help out in any way I can so please get in
touch if you need,


Best wishes,
Kerry
0427 144919

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