[publictransport] Bendigo News + Meeting

[cfsmtb]

Hi all,

Seconded for another meeting this week - CERES is good, another having 
wireless for Skype would be good to hear what other groups around 
Victoria are doing.

If you know of other meetings and actions, please contact Brianna & I so 
they can be included on the website and also on the Events calendar:

http://modernthings.org/binthebikeban/events/

Elvira is back at the end of January (from memory), as she suggested her 
place was a meeting place option in Fairfield.

Please find attached a precis of last BtBB's meeting on January 12th, 
please read to get up to speed with what people mentioned and also to 
reappaise our goals in the light of Koskys change in attitude this week.

There's also a transcript of the audio is people want points from that.

A important action from the last BtBB meeting was a contact email/letter 
to BUG's/Clubs and stakeholders informing them of the peak hour changes 
and what actions they could take.

Now apparently we have a two week opportunity until new guideslines are 
announced for bicycle/train use. Well, according to the Channel Ten News 
on Tuesday:

Link:
http://www.melbournecyclist.com/video/video/show?id=1684380%3AVideo%3A5287

Now should that proposed letter be re-edited to tell BUG's/Clubs and 
stakeholders to get involved with DOI's new consultation process? Having 
so many groups could potentially make the process slightly confusing for 
DOI, but hey, they should be listening to the communitys concerns. As 
they should of the first time around.

There is also the offer of a BtBB survey monkey - do have some questions 
drafted, although more would be appreciated.

http://www.surveymonkey.com

So timelining our proposed protests - the actions at Geelong on 1/2 and 
Melbourne 12/2 can now be seen as huge opportunities to make sure the 
State Government stick to their words.

At the moment they're only words as both Brianna & I can't seen to find 
any official media releases or government annoucements.

cheers,

Chris

***


Bendigo: Ban prompts action
http://bendigo.yourguide.com.au/news/local/general/ban-prompts-action/1168138.html

CENTRAL Victorian bike activists plan to take the success of a rethink 
on train bike bans further and advocate for greater integration between 
rail and bike use.

Up to fifty cyclists - many of them catching the morning service from 
Castlemaine with cardboard replica bikes - gathered at Bendigo Station 
yesterday to voice their protest at a State Government ban of bikes on 
peak-hour trains.

This week Minister Lynne Kosky ordered a review of the ban and will not 
impose the restrictions until it is complete.

Rally organiser Jill Gibson said this was an opportunity for the 
government to completely reverse ban and look at new and better ways of 
integrating bicycles into the public transport system.

‘‘This is a chance to make it that much better and as a link in the 
chain, so to speak, of an integrated system,’’ she said.

The volunteer for Sustainability Victoria said like the need to address 
climate change, the community had led the way on the bike issue, 
particularly in central Victoria, where there were fewer public 
transport options and people grasped the value of the need for alternatives.

‘‘In Castlemaine we have a community that has really jelled, and issues 
like this bring the community together,’’ Ms Gibson said.

‘‘People have moved here for deliberate life choices and are very 
conscious of those choices.’’

She said the bike train option allowed many people to do without the 
expense of a second car.

City of Greater Bendigo councillor Keith Reynard, who led the council 
move against the ban, said it was also vital to have public transport 
systems that support bicycle travel because of the rise in commuter 
travel and its potential to contribute to tourism.

‘‘We want to promote cycling where people come up and ride around 
central Victoria, and the public transport integration in this is all 
part of the journey,’’ he said.

Cr Reynard said bikes also posed an alternative solution to the ongoing 
problem of car parking for rail commuters, where the 120 space site 
filled early and overflowed into surrounding streets.

‘‘I understand it won’t suit everybody, but the more we can utilise 
alternatives like bike travel, the less pressure there is on limited 
spaces,’’ he said.

‘‘As fuel prices go up I think we are going to see more and more of this 
(bicycle use).’’ Bendigo Bicycle Users Group president Keith Longridge 
said the review provided an opportunity for the government to encourage 
more cycle commuting.

‘‘I think the first reaction of Bendigo cyclist to this ban is they were 
being marginalised,’’ Mr Longridge said.

‘‘We want the government to act in an encouraging, rather than a 
discouraging, role and see bikes as a key to the efficiency of the whole 
system.’’

He said infrastructure details such as better bicycle storage stations 
(Bendigo Station presently has 12 lockers) were part of the next step to 
solving wider transport problems.

‘‘We’ve got to get out of this 1950s and 60s thinking of just building a 
freeway and filling it with cars.’’

V/Line area service manager Andrew Berry said the rally had been orderly 
and provided no difficulty, but he said the company would be making a 
submission to the Minister on the difficulty large numbers of bikes 
created for passenger access.

He said V/Line’s major concern was with safety and the possibility of 
multiple bicycles overflowing from storage areas and impeding people’s 
ability to get on and off trains


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