Eurostar and Bikes
Posted: 7 Apr 2016, 5:49pm
Philip
When Psamathe says that Eurostar has “reinstated the requirement (in part)” for cyclists to box or bag their bicycles for carriage on Eurostar, I’m assuming that he is referring to the way they’ve introduced a limit of 2 unboxed/unbagged bicycles per train, instead of 4?
If so, rest assured that it hasn’t gone un-noticed here, even though Eurostar has worded its policy carefully to try and hide the fact – note the words “a limited number”(!):
• You can put your bike in a padded bike bag or bike box. We can provide a box for you, which is included in the service price and this is the best option for protecting your bike.
• If you’d prefer to keep your bike fully assembled, Eurodespatch has a limited number of spaces per train, so you’ll need to call us for availability.
•
The reason we haven’t responded yet is not due to the rebrand. It has more to do with the fact that we are about to launch several other campaigns, in the run-up to Assembly / Parliament elections in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and elections for the Police and Crime Commissioners in England (the latter being a key opportunity to advance our Road Justice campaign). Moreover, just when we were already stretched to the limits, the Government also released its desperately under-resourced Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS). Getting some decent investment into the so-called ‘Investment’ Strategy is strategically critical for the future of cycling in England. So that too will now require a further high-profile campaign between now and the end of the CWIS consultation period, on 21st May.
Yet despite these capacity pressures, we are also considering how best to push Eurostar once again on the issue of unboxed/unbagged bikes. However, before committing finite campaigning resources to this issue, we clearly need to make sure we have a decent chance of winning it! We are therefore assessing what leverage we’ve got and how best to deploy it. It currently looks like our best bet is to start by pressing for a better deal for cyclists through negotiation, rather than by making a big public noise, whilst keeping open the latter option too.
However if we do decide to go for a more public-facing campaign, we’ll have a much better chance of making a success of it if we’ve first got the elections and CWIS consultation out of the way!
Best wishes
Roger Geffen
Policy Director
Cycling UK
From: Philip Benstead1 [mailto:philipbenstead1@gmail.com]
Sent: 06 April 2016 19:34
To: Roger Geffen
Cc: Philip Benstead; Paul Tuohy; David Cox
Subject: Eurostar CTC needs to reengaged?
Importance: High
Re: It's all in the name - Cyclists' TOURING club
by Psamathe » Wed 06 Apr , 2016 11:24 am
reohn2 wrote:...
I'd say less about it if the 'charity' was doing any good for cycling.
....
They fought (and won) the requirement to box your bikes when crossing the Channel via tunnel. Unfortunately, a short time later the operator re-instated the requirement (in part) but by then the CTC was completely pre-occupied with its re-brand so didn't notice and didn't bother to act (which I see as putting re-branding as of greater importance than real issues facing cyclists ... or at least "touring cyclists"). (As reported by people facing the requirement)
Ian
Psamathe
Posts: 3705
Joined: Fri 10 Jan , 2014 8:56 pm
When Psamathe says that Eurostar has “reinstated the requirement (in part)” for cyclists to box or bag their bicycles for carriage on Eurostar, I’m assuming that he is referring to the way they’ve introduced a limit of 2 unboxed/unbagged bicycles per train, instead of 4?
If so, rest assured that it hasn’t gone un-noticed here, even though Eurostar has worded its policy carefully to try and hide the fact – note the words “a limited number”(!):
• You can put your bike in a padded bike bag or bike box. We can provide a box for you, which is included in the service price and this is the best option for protecting your bike.
• If you’d prefer to keep your bike fully assembled, Eurodespatch has a limited number of spaces per train, so you’ll need to call us for availability.
•
The reason we haven’t responded yet is not due to the rebrand. It has more to do with the fact that we are about to launch several other campaigns, in the run-up to Assembly / Parliament elections in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and elections for the Police and Crime Commissioners in England (the latter being a key opportunity to advance our Road Justice campaign). Moreover, just when we were already stretched to the limits, the Government also released its desperately under-resourced Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS). Getting some decent investment into the so-called ‘Investment’ Strategy is strategically critical for the future of cycling in England. So that too will now require a further high-profile campaign between now and the end of the CWIS consultation period, on 21st May.
Yet despite these capacity pressures, we are also considering how best to push Eurostar once again on the issue of unboxed/unbagged bikes. However, before committing finite campaigning resources to this issue, we clearly need to make sure we have a decent chance of winning it! We are therefore assessing what leverage we’ve got and how best to deploy it. It currently looks like our best bet is to start by pressing for a better deal for cyclists through negotiation, rather than by making a big public noise, whilst keeping open the latter option too.
However if we do decide to go for a more public-facing campaign, we’ll have a much better chance of making a success of it if we’ve first got the elections and CWIS consultation out of the way!
Best wishes
Roger Geffen
Policy Director
Cycling UK
From: Philip Benstead1 [mailto:philipbenstead1@gmail.com]
Sent: 06 April 2016 19:34
To: Roger Geffen
Cc: Philip Benstead; Paul Tuohy; David Cox
Subject: Eurostar CTC needs to reengaged?
Importance: High
Re: It's all in the name - Cyclists' TOURING club
by Psamathe » Wed 06 Apr , 2016 11:24 am
reohn2 wrote:...
I'd say less about it if the 'charity' was doing any good for cycling.
....
They fought (and won) the requirement to box your bikes when crossing the Channel via tunnel. Unfortunately, a short time later the operator re-instated the requirement (in part) but by then the CTC was completely pre-occupied with its re-brand so didn't notice and didn't bother to act (which I see as putting re-branding as of greater importance than real issues facing cyclists ... or at least "touring cyclists"). (As reported by people facing the requirement)
Ian
Psamathe
Posts: 3705
Joined: Fri 10 Jan , 2014 8:56 pm
