Should bikes be allowed on the Sydney Metro?

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Permalink Reply by Bob Moore on August 4, 2009 at 12:19am

Doing a bit of online research, and from replies here, it seems bike carriage is quite common round the world. Germany allows bikes on most metros, as does Netherlands and Swiss. French do allow bikes but not on the paris underground (they do on the RER above ground lines). Many UK train systems allow bikes, including newer parts of the London underground, and also common in USA. Carriages are designated in some cases. Some use the end carriages for bikes, other the central carriage, depends which carriages have most demand.

Some useful ammunition is the NSW Dept of Planning Guidelines for Bicycle Planning, by Kendall Banfield (now Transport Planner at Marrickville Council). It says :

"the effectiveness of bicycle catchments around railway stations can be improved by carriage designs that encourage bicycles to be carried on trains". Clearly any consideration of banning bikes from the metro is contrary to this policy, which states a presumption that maximising the cycling catchment of rail stations is an important aspect of infrastructure planning.

Also, the Dept of Planning policy "Integrating Land Use and Planning" has as one of its key objectives "maximising the use of public transport, walking and cycling". Banning cycles from trains would clearly not be "maximising" the possible use of cycling and public transport.


An "equity" argument: (From Robert Johnson of Balmain)

"Integrating Land Use and Planning" includes within its aim "improving the equity of access to jobs and services...by promoting walking, cycling and public transport". The DoP policy "Planning guidelines for walking and cycling" specifically outline that one of the "rationales for improving practice" in "creating a walkable and cycleable city is...equity". It should be a goal to allow cyclists onto the trains rather than trying to find reasons to allow discrimination against them. It is policy that cycling is beneficial for society through its low negative impact on the environment and highly positive impact on public health. Equity for cyclists is therefore not just providing for the (currently small but growing) minority who will cycle to and from metro stations, but also equity for the society as a whole that understands the benefits that come from encouraging active, non-car, based access to the metro.

Robert goes on to expand on bicycling and the future enlargement of the Metro:

Assuming a 2.5 - 5 km cycling catchment (ie at least 3 times a walking catchment, 9 times the area) the present CBD - Rozelle metro may not attract many cyclists, since it is only 4 or 5 km to the city. The time penalty for interchanging from bike to metro and back again at the other end may be so long as to make it quicker just to cycle the whole way. However, as the metro gets longer this will be increasingly less true, for four reasons.

Firstly, as the metro gets longer, rail journeys will become increasingly attractive to those who do not wish to cycle as far as the metro travels.

Second, the percentage of time spent interchanging will drop as rail transit time increases.

Thirdly, the fact that the metro may expand to serve the "employment arc" from Parramatta through the CBD to the Macquarie Park area is significant, because those terminal locations will always be very different in nature to the CBD. Those areas will become increasingly significant employment areas but may not become as dense as the CBD. People will travel to them from homes in medium density areas to jobs in medium density areas. At present, cycling from home to the station and leaving the bike there may be considered sufficient provision, but this is because all trips will end in the very high density employment area that is the CBD, where most jobs are within an easy walk of a metro station. When commutes such as Rozelle to Parramatta are considered, the benefits of expanding the catchment areas at both ends of the trip become important. The medium density of jobs at the regional centres will mean that being able to cycle from the metro to work may be significant in the future ability of the metro to attract passengers, because many of the jobs will be located further from the stations than is the case in the CBD.

Finally, a related point is that the infrastructure is currently set up to provide for hub and spoke, suburb to CBD, commutes. The employment arc is not so well provided for, both because both homes and jobs are not so centralised, and public transport will always find it more difficult to serve these journeys with their multiple hubs, or indeed no hubs. Therefore good cycle access at both ends of the journey, including the ability to cycle at both ends of a metro trip, will increase the metros ability to attract people out of their cars, by increasing the catchment area not just for homes but also for jobs, something not required at present when commuters are heading for one place, the CBD.

The above reasons detail why seamless, integrated cycle to metro trips will be come important in the future. The stations, and also trains that are provided when the metro opens will be around for a long time, between 100 and 30 years respectively. Therefore the ability to carry bicycles must be designed in now, as the rolling stock and infrastructure about to be built will be around when these changed trip patterns occur.

Any letter writing support would be appreciated- to Sydney Metro, Verity Firth, Premier, etc.

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Permalink Reply by yogi on August 4, 2009 at 12:30pm

Yes, Bikes should be allowed on Metro service.. But it negates the cycleway they wanna put in too.

The metro route should be an easy ride anyway. after all the grade has to be low.

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Permalink Reply by Tony A on August 4, 2009 at 2:53pm

Oh, I didn't know that they were planning a cycleway as part of the Metro. Maybe some good will come of this project after all... (I love rail, but I'm just not sure about this Government's plans).

Yogi (or anyone). Can you post a link to the details of this proposed cycle path.

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Permalink Reply by Neil Alexander on August 4, 2009 at 3:00pm

Metro would be underground (if ever built), cycleway wouldn't (if ever built). I don't think the gradient of the Metro would have any bearing on that of any cycleway above ground.

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Permalink Reply by Bob Moore on August 4, 2009 at 4:33pm

As part of the new Iron Cove Bridge/Busway project the RTA is upgrading the Victoria Rd cycleroute (shared path through Rozelle), which will go right past the Metro station at corner of Darling St, and on to another possible station at White Bay. The RTA wouldnt or couldnt acquire any land (except at White Bay) to widen the footpath past some crucial narrow points at bus shelters but the Metro does intend to acquire land for station entrances (local Chemist isnt too happy about losing his shop!) so there is hope that what the RTA couldnt deliver, Sydney Metro will, particularly at Darling St. If they are serious about making cycling an important mode of accessing the Metro as their blurb says they will have to do some work on Darling St too. Good scope for some of that rare whole of government approach to cycling here!

The station at Rozelle will be 20-30 m underground and will extend west to about Wellington St, so some people have suggested a sideways tunnel could be built direct to that end of the station, to save walking or riding up the hill and then going down in a lift etc- and if they did that why not allow access from about Evans St on the other side of the ridge. Cyclists/peds could then travel right under the Darling St ridge. Too hopeful? I wonder what the cost/ benefit would be if they did provide a cycleway tunnel the whole way into say Pyrmont, popping out at Union St? Mightnt be that pleasant, cycling in a long tunnel.

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Permalink Reply by Paul on September 1, 2009 at 8:21pm

Was that a pig I just saw fly past at high speed? I don't think the Metro will ever get built.

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Permalink Reply by Bob Moore on September 1, 2009 at 7:42pm

In the Glazebrook transport plan for Sydney, page 17, there is a diagram of a possible Metro carriage, with a space for bicycles up next to the drivers cabin.

For the letter writers the Herald is calling for submissions for its transport inquiry.

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Permalink Reply by Bob Moore on February 28, 2010 at 4:00pm

Well, the Metro got canned as many predicted, and submissions re bikes on trains were all wasted, unless someone passes them on to the next lot of Plans We May or May Not See. Light rail already carries bikes so if that expands, then I hope they continue the practice. Came across this presentation today from the link to the Institute for Sensible Transport (now there is a catchy title) in Russ W's latest post, all about integrating bikes and trains. IST did a study on bikes for the (twice canned now resurrected?) NW Metro too apparently, which would have been handy last year if I had known about it.

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Permalink Reply by g_man on February 28, 2010 at 8:04pm

Bob,
the New York Subway, London Underground and San Francisco Bart all allow bikes (some restrictions on lines and stations) and pretty much everyone allows folding bikes
Train operators don't like bikes - only their mode matters (this is why trains and buses don't meet unless its a commercially driven process or someone is beating govt agencies with a big stick).
Even though Metro is dead (for now), they will pull the same trick with the CBD relief line (Western Express), Epping to Castle Hill and any other projects.

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Permalink Reply by Leonardo on February 28, 2010 at 9:01pm

I don't know about the Paris Metro, though I doubt it would be allowed and not all that necessary. I do know that all the trains I travelled on had spots for bikes set aside at the ends of some carriages. The Trams in some cities did have bike racks also. In Strasbourg the trams definitely welcomed bikes, see the photo attached.

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• IMG_4454.jpg, 121 KB

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Permalink Reply by sit ubu sit on February 28, 2010 at 9:55pm

1) Lets see the thing built first and then worry about what goes on it.
2) Lets look at an analogue - bikes are allowed on Sydney Rail.
3) If the Stage Govt is so worried about people getting grease on their clothes they'd better ban just about every form of take away food known to man.

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