Bicycles on the DART

[essoII]

I'm sure this has been asked before, so remove this thread if you like..what's irishrail's policy on taking full size, non-portable bikes on the DART?

[Thomas Ralph]

They aren't allowed.

[Colm Moore]

About your only chance of gettign them on is in a charity case "its the last DART and I have a puncture".

It would make sense to allow them on non-peak trains and trams.

[dowlingm]

Bikes allowed on Toronto subways, buses and streetcars from 0930-1530 and 1830-0630 weekdays and all weekend. All new buses have racks and they are being retrofitted to existing ones. Here's the brochure (PDF)

Suburban rail is much the same deal, except foldable bikes at peak is being trialled. They also have a biking trail promotion.

Interurban rail: $20 per bike per ticket irrespective of connections on trains with checked bags. You can also pack a canoe... There is a summer biketrain trip to the Niagara region.

[Mark Gleeson]

DART frequently is standing room only even at off peak, particularly in the afternoon with schools. Its not black and white time issue

Obviously if the timetable was better and more frequent it might work

[Alan French]

I still think that our authorities are too fond of blanket restrictions, at the expense of customer service. Many British railway companies allow bicycles on trains outside rush hours, and this seems to be the most sensible approach.

The guiding principle should be that customers come with a variety of travelling needs; they are not just standardised entities. Reasonable requirements should be met. Suppose I hadn't a commuter ticket, and I turned up at Bray with a bike for the 23.20 to Connolly (which is always quite empty). Absolutely no one could be inconvenienced by the bike. The company stands to gain my custom. But staff are instructed to apply a blanket ruling, which benefits no one. They are not permitted to have a proper customer focus.

If someone argues, "If you allow one, you'll have to allow them all" - then I say: If numbers remain small, then there's no problem; if the numbers grow, they're on to a winner, and they're dealing with a lucrative market, and then it begins to make sense to make special provisions for bicycles. Remember the vans of the push-pull trains, that could serve as passenger overflow when the train got crowded?

I've just been reading in "Railway Magazine", Dec. 2008, how varied British practice is. On Southern (London-Brighton line and surrounding areas), all bikes (even folding ones) are banned at all times, apparently because of one incident in Brighton. By contrast, Liverpool and Glasgow suburban trains permit them on all trains, even in the rush hours. On balance, I think the best balance would be a rush-hour ban (starting about 15.00 if you want to be on the safe side), but permitted at other times. The passenger would have a legal liability if anyone was injured.

Now, wait till I start a new thread, applying a similar line of reason to the carriage of dogs by train. See how British practise disproves all our reasons why it wouldn't work. But that's another day's work!