Bikes on V-Line Bus- Coaches

 

A Bus-Coach taking copious amounts of luggage on a garden club tour. 

My bike on a V-Line Train-Coach on the recent Coleraine trip - no problems! 

Hi

Recently I returned from a train and bike trip to Coleraine which is documented here . There is a bus - coach service to Coleraine, but most bikes aren't allowed to be taken on it. I believe this is only for bureaucratic reasons, not because the Bus - Coaches can't, or can't safely carry a wider variety of bikes. Recently, the whole bikes  - on - public - transport - debate has been dominated by discussions on the safety of ebikes on public transport. Just to keep it simple, I'm leaving ebikes out of this blog post.

 The government should change the rules permanently and  allow bikes on Vline bus-coaches. These are different from city buses in that they have a long wide luggage bay below the passenger seats where bicycles can easily be - and are stored. During my trip along the Great Southern Rail Trail from Yarram, I thought how great that trip would be if it started with public transport to Yarram, rather than being forced to ride the busy roads from Traralgon to Yarram and the start of the rail trail.The regular Vline rules for bikes on bus-coaches mimic those for city buses. They allow bikes with 20" and smaller wheels all the time. Full size bikes are only allowed on V-line bus-coaches when the service is replacing a train service.

I have carried my recumbent on train replacement bus-coaches on at least two trips, once on my way back from an Otways Audax ride, and also on a return trip to Federation University in Ballarat. The sky did not fall in when the bus-coach carried a bike, nor would it if it carried bikes on regular services. 

For the recent trip to Coleraine, I arrived by bike and public transport but for many local, interstate and international tourists this would not be possible - I rode more than 100k in a day on trafficked roads to and from the nearest train stations. There is some great riding and touring to be done on quiet roads and a rail trail around Coleraine but getting there without a car is quite hard.

The Victorian state government is doing all it can in the current time of war and fuel crises to appease motorists, country people and commuters and keep them travelling, and getting to work affordably. It is not just about affording to get to work, people from the cities are needed in country pubs, motels, caravan parks, restaurants, cafes and shops to support tourism and towns. Subsidising diesel fuel is important too, as diesel engines run agricultural machinery and runs trucks which transport our goods.

Current Victorian measures to keep things moving include

Free public transport for April and May, and half price public transport for the rest of the year, 

A 25 c per litre reduction in petrol tax

Rebates on car registration fees. 

Allowing bicycles on all country bus-coaches would cost nothing but provide a great service to city and country dwellers and tourists alike. At the same time it would benefit country towns economically. The change would simply be a smart way of doing it with already made stuff.