Bike racks on buses

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horizon
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Bike racks on buses

Post by horizon »

On a different thread mjr kindly provided a link to this:

https://cyclebath.org.uk/2015/06/04/fro ... a-says-no/

I think it's a really important issue and one that doesn't get enough air space.
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ANTONISH
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Re: Bike racks on buses

Post by ANTONISH »

When 4x4 drivers were fitting "Bullbars" to their vehicles there were many (IMO justified) complaints about this circumventing vehicle safety requirements . There were some serious injuries to pedestrians that may not have occurred had these modifications not been made.
If anything having a bike rack and bikes on the front of a vehicle seems a more dangerous option.
rmurphy195
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Re: Bike racks on buses

Post by rmurphy195 »

ANTONISH wrote:When 4x4 drivers were fitting "Bullbars" to their vehicles there were many (IMO justified) complaints about this circumventing vehicle safety requirements . There were some serious injuries to pedestrians that may not have occurred had these modifications not been made.
If anything having a bike rack and bikes on the front of a vehicle seems a more dangerous option.


Apart from this very obvious fact, I wonder what the impact would be on bus schedules of the driver having to wait while bikes are mounted on/removed from the racks - especially where the first person to get off has his/her bike behind all the others! And where does the owner stand while ptting the bike onto the rack or removing it? The whole proposal looks damn dangerous to me.
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Cyril Haearn
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Re: Bike racks on buses

Post by Cyril Haearn »

ANTONISH wrote:When 4x4 drivers were fitting "Bullbars" to their vehicles there were many (IMO justified) complaints about this circumventing vehicle safety requirements . There were some serious injuries to pedestrians that may not have occurred had these modifications not been made.
If anything having a bike rack and bikes on the front of a vehicle seems a more dangerous option.

They still do fit them, some lgvs have them too :? must be heavy and increase fuel consumption significantly, in a crash they could slice the vehicle or person in front to bits
Buses have small areas inside for wheelchairs &c, these could be enlarged as multipurpose areas for standees (sardines)
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JJF
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Re: Bike racks on buses

Post by JJF »

I have seen (but not used) bike racks on the front of buses. This was in Hawaii.
I have seen and used bike racks on the back of Post Buses in Switzerland. The system seemed to work ok. You had to make sure you communicated with the driver both when loading and unloading.
Cyril Haearn
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Re: Bike racks on buses

Post by Cyril Haearn »

I would not trust a bus driver, I would not want to load or unload my bike in front or behind when the engine was running, or even when it was not, it could be started at any time
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atoz
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Re: Bike racks on buses

Post by atoz »

Can't see First going for this, they don't want bikes on trains..lol
thirdcrank
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Re: Bike racks on buses

Post by thirdcrank »

atoz wrote:Can't see First going for this, they don't want bikes on trains..lol


From the link
Before I get into the details of this, I have to thank First Group for their immense support and effort throughout this process. They have been exceptional. It is almost solely down to their partnership with bikesonbuses.com that we got to where we did. I also have to stress that at no point did the bus with the rack leave the workshop. So on with the bad news
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craigbroadbent
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Re: Bike racks on buses

Post by craigbroadbent »

I like the rack design.
It is very versatile and quite intuitive
and just like ours.https://auxtail.com/
If we want to get people out of cars, the we need some multimodal solutions and bikes on buses would certainly be a useful additional mode of transport.
I am of the opinion that the swiss rear mount is a lot better idea. Fuel economy and safety are significantly better.
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mjr
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Re: Bike racks on buses

Post by mjr »

craigbroadbent wrote:I am of the opinion that the swiss rear mount is a lot better idea. Fuel economy and safety are significantly better.

Yes, but the problems then are safety (because it's more difficult for the driver to see if it's been secured correctly, even if they have cameras) and dwell time, as it takes even longer to tell the driver at the front, wheel the bike to the back, load and secure it, walk to the front again, board and tap in - unloading is slightly quicker.

I think bus bike racks are an obvious idea and should work, probably more easily on limited-stop rural eXpress services than frequent-stopping town/city ones, but the DVSA blanket opposition needs to be removed first.
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sunnydunny63
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Re: Bike racks on buses

Post by sunnydunny63 »

I can think of a few bus drivers I'd liked to have seen on a rack

Stagecoach X services in particular

Just saying
reohn2
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Re: Bike racks on buses

Post by reohn2 »

It's never going to happen on the front of buses in the UK for safety reasons as the linked article rightly states.In the US it's different,the onus is on the pedestrian to keep out of the way of motor traffic by their jaywalking laws.
I can see there being a place on the rear of some buses for bike racks,which IMO would need some form of hard cover lockable remotely by the driver to stop theft and joyriding.
A camera in the drivers cab could ensure safety of passengers when un/loading bikes.
Such a system would only be of use for longer non or few stop routes as schedule times could vary so much on multi stop city/town routes.

My 2d's worth.
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middleagedspread
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Re: Bike racks on buses

Post by middleagedspread »

It works fine in Edmonton, Alberta. There are no Jaywalking laws in Alberta (such laws are within provincial or municipal jurisdiction in Canada) , and in fact cars and buses are far readier to stop for pedestrians waiting to cross the road than in the UK, whether they are at a designated crossing or not.

All Edmonton municipal buses have a bike rack on the front, which can take two bikes. They are essentially the same design as the Auxtail racks linked to up thread. They are easy to use: squeeze the handle to pull down the rack, lift bike on and flip up wheel holder. It only takes about 10 seconds, but in any case the drivers are patient. I don't think having the rack there will make me any more dead than if I were to get hit by a bus without one. I've used them a couple of times, once when my derailleur broke in the winter, and once when I met my daughter from school and we both took the bus home. Overall I think they are a great addition to the buses, allowing people to take advantage of mixed mode transport. I don't see any real safety issues, and I'm sure they would work well in the UK.

*Edited to add detail about the rack type and operation.
Last edited by middleagedspread on 13 Jun 2018, 11:33pm, edited 1 time in total.
reohn2
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Re: Bike racks on buses

Post by reohn2 »

middleagedspread wrote:It works fine in Edmonton, Alberta. There are no Jaywalking laws in Alberta (such laws are within provincial or municipal jurisdiction in Canada) , and in fact cars and buses are far readier to stop for pedestrians waiting to cross the road than in the UK, whether they are at a designated crossing or not........

Same effect,different reason.
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middleagedspread
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Re: Bike racks on buses

Post by middleagedspread »

Same effect,different reason


Not sure I follow Reohn. Your objection to their use in the UK appeared to be that they rely on pedestrians staying out of the way because of Jaywalking laws. I'm just observing that they work fine here in Edmonton without jaywalking laws.
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