[publictransport] Bendigo News + Meeting - Countering the V-Line Position ***

[Labyrinth]

Hi Rob,
I agree with your suggestions for "STARTING POINTS in negotiation  
with V/Line.

However I would suggest that you remind the minister that V/line  
staff need better training because a significant  proportion of them  
have negative attitudes.

If these early negotiations go well then there is an opportunity  to  
suggest to the Minister that on her next overseas trips she visits  
Amsterdam Central station, Groningen station and  has a look at  
bicycle hire facilities at stations in the Berlin region. They have   
3,000 rental bikes available at Berlin train stations and  run a   
“Call-A- Bike” program. See details below.

Bye alan
=====================================

“ Bike rail travel in Berlin “ extracted by Alan A. Parker from a new  
research paper by John Pucher and Ralph Buehler

At the Frontiers of Cycling:  Policy Innovations in the Netherlands,  
Denmark, and
Germany

By John Pucher and Ralph Buehler Rutgers University
World Transport Policy & Practice Volume 13. Number 3. December 2007

Integrating cycling and public transport in Berlin:

Case Studies of Cycling in Germany are especially interesting for  
Australians precisely because the country does not have a long  
tradition of cycling, certainly nothing even approaching the  
bicycling culture of the Netherlands. Moreover, Germany has a much  
higher level of car ownership and use than the Netherlands and  
Denmark. Berlin is situated in eastern Germany, about 70 miles from  
the Polish border. It has about 3.4 million inhabitants and is  
completely surrounded by the rural State of  Brandenburg. However the  
larger Berlin Metropolitan Region contains about 4.5 million  
inhabitants, that is half a million more than Metropolitan Melbourne .

Germany is home to some of the world’s most important car  
manufacturers (Volkswagen, Daimler-Benz, Audi, Porsche, BMW), which  
together represent a very strong lobby for highways and cars. And for  
individual Germans, there is a love affair with the car that is at  
least as passionate as that of Australians.

The main driving forces for promoting bicycling in Berlin were  
environmental pollution and air quality considerations, but also the  
city’s worsening financial crises. Promoting bicycling and expanding  
cycling infrastructure is relatively cheap compared to building roads  
or rail transport infrastructure.

Even though Berlin is spread out, it is flat .The only recent data  
that exist for the whole city is the German National Travel Survey  
(MiD) 2002.  That survey reports a bike share of 7% of all trips in  
Berlin, with a margin of error of 3%. Berlin’s bike planners point  
out that the sample for this survey was very small, and that a 10%  
bike mode share is still within the margin of error. That is much  
more than in Metropolitan Melbourne. There proportionally many more  
cycling commuter trips in  Berlin and ten times as many bike rail  
trips. There were 3,000 rental bikes available at train stations  
which run a  “Call-A- Bike” program. As model for Melbourne and  
Connex ,  Berlin is worth further study particulary for the provision  
of rental bikes.

Car ownership rates are low in Berlin.  After an initial increase in  
car ownership rates after reunification, of East and West Germany the  
level of car ownership has been roughly stable since 1994 at only  
about 330 cars per capita (compared to about 560 for Germany as a  
whole). Clearly, low levels of car ownership and less access to cars  
increase the potential for cycling, walking and transit use (City of  
Berlin, 2003).

Bike Parking and Coordination with public transport

In 2004, there were 22,600 bike & ride parking spots at regional and  
commuter rail (S-Bahn) as well as at subway stations (U- Bahn).  The  
S-Bahn and regional transit providers plan to increase bike parking  
at transit stops.  From 2004 to 2005 the S-Bahn already built 2,000  
additional bike parking spots. The regional transit provider BVG  
plans to increase bike parking by 7,000 places by the year 2010 (City  
of Berlin, 2007a and 2007b). Unlike Dutch cities of Groningen or  
Amsterdam, however, Berlin does not have special bike parking garages  
at its large train stations.

  Bike parking, of course exists at train stations, but is mainly  
limited to bike racks, some of which are sheltered from the rain.  
Bicycles are allowed 24 hours a day on trams (streetcars) as well as  
on regional and commuter trains in Berlin. There is a modest  
additional charge for season ticket holders who want to transport  
their bike frequently on public transport (€ 8 per month). All other  
passengers pay € 1.50 per trip and per bike within Berlin and up to €  
2.70 in the suburbs per trip and bike.  Many train stations are  
equipped with elevators and ramps, which facilitate taking a bike  
from the street level to the platform and onto the trains (City of  
Berlin, 2007a).

The  “Call-A- Bike” program in Berlin

Since 2002, German Railways (DB) has offered its “Call-A- Bike”  
program in Berlin. In 2006, there were 3,000 rental bikes at train  
stations and distributed all throughout the city. These bikes are  
clearly marked as DB bikes and have a phone number displayed on them.  
Everyone who finds a parked bike can call the number, give their  
credit card information and obtain a pass- code for the bike lock.  
Once the bike lock is opened DB charges € 0.08 per minute, up to a  
maximum of € 15 for 24 hours. Owners of railway or S-Bahn season  
tickets pay only € 0.06 per minute. The bikes can then be used for as  
long as necessary and can be left at any intersection in the city.   
German Railways ceases charging as soon as the lock of the bike is  
closed. In 2005, there were an average of 535 bike rentals a day,  
with an average use of 50 minutes per rental.  Since 2002, the annual  
number of users of the service has increased fivefold, from 5,000 to  
over 23,000 in 2006 (German Railways, 2007).

Since 2006, Berlin has joined other European cities and participates  
in the EU funded program Sustainable Planning and Innovations for  
Bicycles (SPI-Cycles) (City of Berlin, 2007a and 2007b).  The goal of  
the program is to improve bicycling for everyday use.  For example it  
will enhance bike parking for shopping.  Additionally, the city  
building code for Berlin requires new buildings and existing  
buildings undergoing major renovations to accommodate bicycling  
parking (City of Berlin, 2005).

Bicycling promotion

Once a year in May or June, the Berlin branch of the German bicycling  
federation (ADFC) holds a major bike rally (Sternfahrt), supported by  
the city government. Major roads in the city are closed for this  
event, and cyclists converge from all parts of the city towards a  
large roundabout (Grosser Stern) at the centre of the city. The same  
event is repeated on a smaller scale in September. In 2005, more than  
100,000 cyclists participated - in pouring rain. Cyclists started  
from 81 origins all over the city and converged on 17 different  
routes towards the central meeting area (City of Berlin, 2007a).

Furthermore, the city government publishes a comprehensive bike map,  
as well as many leaflets and brochures containing information for  
cyclists, such as suggested cycle routes,
updates on bike infrastructure construction and new policies to  
encourage cycling.

In 2003, the city administration of Berlin founded Berlin’s first  
bicycle council (FahrRat). This group consists of bicycle experts  
from different departments of the city of Berlin, bicycle experts  
from research centres, representatives from the bicycle industry,  
bike advocacy groups, and transit

providers. This group meets regularly to discuss relevant bicycling  
issues in the city and participated actively in formulating Berlin’s  
bicycling strategy. Due to the different backgrounds of the council  
members many different perspectives on cycling are represented in the  
discussion process.

One particularly innovative tool is Berlin’s online bike planning  
website.  On this internet site, cyclists can enter the addresses of  
origin and destination of their bike trip and the computer calculates  
the best route to take. Cyclists can select different options for  
their trips. The program asks about the desired kind of bicycling  
facility for the trip. Choices include: the type of right of way: on-  
street routes, separate bike paths and lanes or off-road trails.  
Furthermore, cyclists can choose to avoid signalized intersections.  
The program then maps and describes the suggested route, complete  
with location of nearest transit stops, traffic signals, and  
steepness. The program also calculates trip times based on different  
cycling speeds. The information can be accessed both by computer and  
with mobile phones so that cyclists can follow the suggested  
directions while en route (City of Berlin, 2007a and 2007b).

Cycling in Berlin:  Some Conclusions

  Berlin does not come close to the bicycle orientation of many  
smaller  cities in Denmark , the Netherlands and german cities near  
the Dutch border. It has a bike share of trips that is higher than  
any other European city of comparable size. Moreover, it has roughly  
doubled cycling levels in the past two decades by a concerted effort  
to improve cycling conditions in the city, both through the  
provisions of a growing network of bike paths and lanes and by  
traffic calming almost all its residential neighbourhoods. Berlin  
might not be a bicyclist’s paradise, but it offers some valuable  
lessons for Metropolitan regions of  comparable size on how best to  
promote cycling in such a large city.







On 24/01/2008, at 2:49 PM, Rob Eke wrote:

> For the V-Line commuters, examine V-Line's recent statements  
> carefully and
> dissect them to prepare counter argument.
>
> Andrew Berry said
>
> 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".
>
> So you know their attitude, they don't want (more/any)bikes on  
> trains. They
> tell the Minister they oppose anything that encourages them and
> encouragement will mean more bikes, hence "large numbers of them".
>
> So know that they will tell the Minister they don't want you....,  
> so you
> counter has to be , Minister
> 1. V-Line have blinkers on,
> 2. they are not looking to the future and the need to accommodate  
> many many
> more riders on their commutes, plus
> 3. the recreational and tourism riders that will grow and grow.
> 4. Is it not State Policy to encourage greater bicycle use.
> 5. The State of Victoria claims to align with sustainable transport  
> policies
> and thus integration of bicycles into Public Transport as a normal  
> component
> is vital to achieve that. ( See EEC , World health org and UN  
> materials on
> this, plus Vic Goverents own acceptance of the Sustainability  
> charter (see
> this press release-
> http://www.dpc.vic.gov.au/domino/Web_Notes/newmedia.nsf/ 
> b0222c68d27626e2ca25
> 6c8c001a3d2d/087a19188bed6533ca2572f20005eac9!OpenDocument )
>
> My starting points would be:-
>
> 1. V-Line still will not introduce a booking system, do you want  
> one? ( will
> it give you and the stations certainty that is missing now?)
> 2. V-Line is not looking to the future, can it cope when the train  
> becomes
> full of passengers who want to take their bikes with them, there  
> may well be
> a time when there will only be all bike riders on some V-Line trains.
> 3. operationally, V-Line has a "dwell time" need to keep to its  
> timetable,
> ie the time at stations to load/unload. It will blame bikes first,  
> and does,
> for delay. Dwell time is primarirly controlled by capability V- 
> Lines own
> staff to manage the young, elderly & infirm, plus those with  
> luggage...but
> bikes will be blamed first... so ensure your strategy covers these  
> points
> and offers solutions such as
> * Booking system for regular commuters, easy to manage, reduces
> disappointment, copes with loads, and allows monitoring as a simple  
> KPI for
> more growth.
> * Priority system for casual users. If numbers grow too big for  
> capacity,
> then more carriages added for booked bikes.
> * Better carriage layout with more hooks and bins for bikes on trains.
> * Better door access on carriages, wider?, different opening system  
> etc.
> * Much much more  V-Line secure bike storage at stations, lockers are
> preferred over cages in the weather and prying eyes.
> * Better trained staff to deal with situations of change and need.
> * Better priorities towards the customer and
> * acceptance that bicycles are an integral part of inter-modal  
> transport and
> are here to stay.
> * Better station & platform layouts and access points to ensure  
> luggage and
> bikes and less ambient people can be managed efficiently to reduce  
> dwell
> times....
> * Move away from bans and move towards accommodation.
> * Move away from rigidity on policy and interpretation towards co- 
> operation
> and commonsense.
>
> Cheers
>
> Rob
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: publictransport-bounces at yarrabug.org
> [mailto:publictransport-bounces at yarrabug.org]On Behalf Of cfsmtb
> Sent: Thursday, 24 January 2008 9:53 AM
> To: Public transport access for all users
> Subject: [publictransport] Bendigo News + Meeting
>
> 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/116813
> 8.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
>
>
> --
>
>
>
> ----------------------------------
> Our hopes and expectations
> Black holes and revelations
> http://cfsmtb.net
> http://www.woj.com.au
> http://www.melbournecyclist.com
> ----------------------------------
>
>
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