Bikes on the Luas

eightyfish

This may have been mentioned before in a thread, but I couldn't find it if it was...

Why can't you take your bike on the Luas?
Even off-peak?

This is ludicrous! The govt are trying to promote cycling in the city and you can't even take your bike on the public tram off peak where there is plenty of room like you can in every other European city!!!!!

Really annoying!

[/rant]

Has anyone got any stick for taking a bike on the tram?

AstraMonti

Unfortunately you are not allowed to take one, the driver will immediately start shouting, no bicycles are aloud.. etc etc..

Borneo Fnctn

I'd chance my arm. In fact, I rarely pay for the luas.

ba

the luas is not technically public... its a private enterprise. so theyve no reason to give a sh1t... same with the dart isnt it? its a complete boll*x imo.

Civilian_Target

I've taken my bike on the train and on the nitelink.
Most people don't care, so long as you're nice about it.

crazydingo

eightyfish wrote: »

This may have been mentioned before in a thread, but I couldn't find it if it was...

Why can't you take your bike on the Luas?
Even off-peak?

This is ludicrous! The govt are trying to promote cycling in the city and you can't even take your bike on the public tram off peak where there is plenty of room like you can in every other European city!!!!!

Really annoying!

[/rant]

Has anyone got any stick for taking a bike on the tram?

I once got a puncture when cycling from Carpenterstown towards town, I was heading through Phoenix Park and didn't have any of my gear with me so ended up walking to Heuston Station and hopped on the luas. No problems so far. Everything was grand, no complaints or comments, and very very few people on the luas.
Then when we stopped briefly at the Red Cow, some old b@stard (that worked for luas) on the other side of the stop saw me with the bike, went and told the driver, then waddled his way down to me and told me that I had to get off. I explained to him that I had a puncture and that my phone had no battery (or I would have called someone for a lift) but he didn't give a fiddler's and told me flippantly that if I had a complaint I could call luas and complain to them. I ended up walking, in the rain (and seething!), all the way to Tallaght village before I could call for a lift home.
I hope that nazi gets hit by a luas

**Timbuk2**

crazydingo wrote: »

I once got a puncture when cycling from Carpenterstown towards town, I was heading through Phoenix Park and didn't have any of my gear with me so ended up walking to Heuston Station and hopped on the luas. No problems so far. Everything was grand, no complaints or comments, and very very few people on the luas.
Then when we stopped briefly at the Red Cow, some old b@stard (that worked for luas) on the other side of the stop saw me with the bike, went and told the driver, then waddled his way down to me and told me that I had to get off. I explained to him that I had a puncture and that my phone had no battery (or I would have called someone for a lift) but he didn't give a fiddler's and told me flippantly that if I had a complaint I could call luas and complain to them. I ended up walking, in the rain (and seething!), all the way to Tallaght village before I could call for a lift home.
I hope that nazi gets hit by a luas

Wow, that's ridiculous - I have often relied on public transport in case of a puncture (I'm not very quick at reparing them ). Maybe I should rethink it.
Does anyone know Bus Eireann's stance on taking bikes on buses - even if you put it down in the hold?

Trojan

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Does anyone know Bus Eireann's stance on taking bikes on buses - even if you put it down in the hold?

You can usually put it in the baggage areas if there's room. Depends on driver/route etc, but I've done it a few times no probs.

eggie

When I bought mine I brought it down from Tallaght on the Luas, also took it back up for new wheels and brought it back again, 3 times no worries. Driver saw me queuing with bike last time and Luas was packed:)

If they said to get off i'd just hop off and then hop on the next one, get there eventually.

72hundred

crazydingo wrote: »

I hope that nazi gets hit by a luas

I truly hope so to. But in the mean time this is a pretty good idea;

eggie wrote: »

If they said to get off i'd just hop off and then hop on the next one, get there eventually.

neilled

**Timbuk2** wrote: »

Wow, that's ridiculous - I have often relied on public transport in case of a puncture (I'm not very quick at reparing them ). Maybe I should rethink it.
Does anyone know Bus Eireann's stance on taking bikes on buses - even if you put it down in the hold?

It is in the Bus Eireann terms of carriage that you can put a bike on the bus provided that there is room. There is however a charge of about 12 euro if i remember correctly. This charge is applied for each leg of the journey so for instance if you get a return ticket for €30 then you must pay 12X2 = €24 for the bike and €30 for your ticket.

It really annoys me when you see people bringing on bags upon bags of stuff to go to the airport and getting charged nothing whilst all you may have is a bike (i was taking mine back from college) and you get slapped with that charge.

Compare that to translink (Ulsterbus) where bicycles can be carried free of charge if there is room.

markpb

ba wrote: »

the luas is not technically public... its a private enterprise. so theyve no reason to give a sh1t... same with the dart isnt it? its a complete boll*x imo.

It's run by RPA, a government body but operated by Veolia (a private company). The rules saying no bikes were introduced by RPA by-laws.

I imagine the rule is there because the Luas is still quite busy in the evenings - there doesn't seem to be the same drop-off that other forms of public transport suffer from in Ireland (and elsewhere).

Sean02

It's all about attitude here in Ireland. we live in a pro car environment where lip service is paid to alternatives (particuarly at election time). No reason at off peak time can the end carriage not accomodate one or two bike. in saying this I know fully that there will be the usual dopes that will leave chain oil on the seats. "Its going back to our historic attitude problem about careing for our environment". Can understand Bus eireann charging and €12 euro seem to about european norm for long distance buses. However I would have thought that designated Airport shuttle buses were free for bikes?.

neilled

Sean02 wrote: »

It's all about attitude here in Ireland. we live in a pro car environment where lip service is paid to alternatives (particuarly at election time). No reason at off peak time can the end carriage not accomodate one or two bike. in saying this I know fully that there will be the usual dopes that will leave chain oil on the seats. "Its going back to our historic attitude problem about careing for our environment". Can understand Bus eireann charging and €12 euro seem to about european norm for long distance buses. However I would have thought that designated Airport shuttle buses were free for bikes?.

The thing about it is though, you can carry pretty much unlimited amount of bags on BE - and the driver doesn't give a toss. There is a limit in the by laws of carriage but they are never enforced. Bicycles on the other hand are - with a vengance. As I've said, Ulsterbus have no problem carrying a bike for free if there is room.

NeilMcEoigheann

tie a bow around the handlebars and its a present or "gift"
or perhaps take off the front wheel to create a unicycle and luggage.
i take off the wheels and wear the frame on my shoulder it sometimes works.
secondly why take your bike on the luas its faster to cycle.

crazydingo

72hundred wrote: »

I truly hope so to. But in the mean time this is a pretty good idea;

The so-and-so was sitting across at the opposite platform and we were right outside Luas HQ so I couldn't really get away with hopping on the next one

Chips Lovell

The recent National Cycling Policy announced that the rules would be changed to allow for bikes on the Luas, but it will only be at off-peak times.

penexpers

crazydingo wrote: »

I once got a puncture when cycling from Carpenterstown towards town, I was heading through Phoenix Park and didn't have any of my gear with me so ended up walking to Heuston Station and hopped on the luas. No problems so far. Everything was grand, no complaints or comments, and very very few people on the luas.
Then when we stopped briefly at the Red Cow, some old b@stard (that worked for luas) on the other side of the stop saw me with the bike, went and told the driver, then waddled his way down to me and told me that I had to get off. I explained to him that I had a puncture and that my phone had no battery (or I would have called someone for a lift) but he didn't give a fiddler's and told me flippantly that if I had a complaint I could call luas and complain to them. I ended up walking, in the rain (and seething!), all the way to Tallaght village before I could call for a lift home.
I hope that nazi gets hit by a luas

So it's the Luas guy's fault that you didn't have a 3 euro puncutre repair kit with you?

petethedrummer

Bus Eireann and bikes.

Last time I took Bus Eireann the driver couldn't remember how much it was for a bike.

Driver: 'Eh how much was it last time?'
Me: 'Eh I dunno, its along time since i was on Bus Eireann. A euro?'
Driver: 'Mmmm, well ok a euro then.'

Jawgap

Matthews Coaches let you put the bike in the luggage bay without charging you and the driver will even give you a hand!!

The new policy does say that bikes will be allowed on public transport, but I reckon we could be a while waiting for that to happen.

Buses can be retro-fitted with these but what about the LUAS and the DART?

I can't see the powers-that-be suddenly just allowing cyclists to take their machines on the carriages. The first time someone trips over one there'll be a claim and that'll be the end of that.

Iarnroid Eireann seem pretty good at allowing bikes on the train. The couple of times I've gone on the train with the bike there hasn't been a problem.

crazydingo

penexpers wrote: »

So it's the Luas guy's fault that you didn't have a 3 euro puncutre repair kit with you?

Nope, I should have had my tools and things with me. I don't blame him for that. I think it was unnecessarily spiteful of him and I wasn't doing any harm (there was one other person within my carriage). He didn't have to get up and rush to the driver before he started to leave, he didn't have to walk down and tell me to get off. At this stop the Lias diver changed and neither of them had issue with me havingmy bike there. Obviously he just felt like screwing up someone else's day to make himself feel better.

I has also made an effort to look all around the Luas stop at Heuston to see if it said anything regarding bikes but there was nothing

eightyfish

NeilMcEoigheann wrote: »

secondly why take your bike on the luas its faster to cycle.

I mostly would like to do this if I go for a few pints after work on a Friday or something like that. I don't cycle after pints, and I'd rather not leave it locked in town overnight and then have to come in for it the next day. I live right on the Luas line, so being able to bring the bike that way, at about 10pm, would be perfect.

Gavin

I've been struggling a bit getting from Naas to Blanchardstown with public transport. I've eventually settled on leaving a bike at Sallins and in Heuston.

I can actually take my bike on the intercity train from Sallins to Heuston which is cool. But if I want to come home, unfortunately they don't allow bikes on railcars or suburban trains. This is not so cool. It's almost, one might say, farcical!

pburns

Gavin wrote: »

I've been struggling a bit getting from Naas to Blanchardstown with public transport. I've eventually settled on leaving a bike at Sallins and in Heuston.

I can actually take my bike on the intercity train from Sallins to Heuston which is cool. But if I want to come home, unfortunately they don't allow bikes on railcars or suburban trains. This is not so cool. It's almost, one might say, farcical!

Where is there parking in Heuston?

Bikes on the Luas would be OK as long as it was STRICTLY off-peak. It's chaotic enough at peak times on a rainy evening. I would be a bit concerned that some would start flexing the rules a bit and bring bikes on when tram is busy tho...

Gavin

pburns wrote: »

Where is there parking in Heuston?

Bikes on the Luas would be OK as long as it was STRICTLY off-peak. It's chaotic enough at peak times on a rainy evening. I would be a bit concerned that some would start flexing the rules a bit and bring bikes on when tram is busy tho...

There is a large covered and gated area right at the back of the station. It's well used.

eightyfish

As it's election time, this might be a good opportunity to let the Eamon Ryan, bike man himself, know that this rule should be changed.

His email address is on his website here.

kenmc

Yeah not being allowed to take a bike on the luas at all is rediculous; I can see the logic of not having it at peak times, fair enough. But the irony of the whole thing is that if you put it into a bike bag or a bike box you can take it on as luggage. I wonder if it's possible to get a strong and big enough black plastic bag that you could put the frame into, enough to 'disguise' it and carry it and the wheels; then you just have luggage once more, and in fact could even take it on like this in rush hour! Rediculous that you should have to stoop to this though.

Chips Lovell

eightyfish wrote: »

As it's election time, this might be a good opportunity to let the Eamon Ryan, bike man himself, know that this rule should be changed.

His email address is on his website here.

The rule is being changed.

eightyfish

el tonto wrote: »

The rule is being changed.

Please, tell us more.

[EDIT] Sorry, just saw your previous post.

petethedrummer

It's not set in stone but....

http://www.transport.ie/upload/general/11387-0.pdf

8.6 Bicycles and LUAS
We will provide for the carriage of bikes on LUAS when services
are of a frequency and at a capacity that allows for it. i.e. when
it is considered possible to carry bikes on carriages when they
do not interfere with the capacity for pedestrians.

Page 50

Sean02

We are light years away from cycle or envirnmental mind set.

After a Bilbao - Porto trip in 07. though I'd chance the Luas to the Airport.
Only request was to use last carriage . Shorter than our Luas......
http://www.seanoreilly.4t.com/images/101_0930.jpg



Minister Ryan instead of the stupid floating park why can't we aspire to standards like this. Porto Airport metro station. Again notice all the litter!!
http://www.seanoreilly.4t.com/images/101_0918.jpg

blorg

Sean- I have been in Porto myself, lovely city, but Portugal is certainly no cycling heaven, in fact I would rank it as it is even worse than here. I worked briefly in Lisbon and started a cycling tour from there- in fairness it did get less terrifying the further north we got.

Spain in my experience is a world away from Portugal in this regard, I've cycled across both traditional and coastal Camino routes, maybe similar to your Bilbao-Porto route and it was almost (but not quite as good as France.

Sean02

Yes you are quite right Blorg. The poor roads and mad drivers in contract to Spain did'nt bother me as much as the dogs everywhere in the countryside.
Still the scenery and the people more than made up for this. We should have a sub section on the forum for tours I think it would make for interesting discussion.

Sacred_git

Hey, whats the story with this,is it possible to bring your bike on the luas now?

Victor

markpb wrote: »

It's run by RPA, a government body but operated by Veolia (a private company). The rules saying no bikes were introduced by RPA by-laws.

The bye-laws are silent on the matter of bicycles. Its a matter of being a prohibited behaviour.

/me brings unicycle.

Dr_Colossus

Jawgap wrote: »

Buses can be retro-fitted with these but what about the LUAS and the DART?
.

Was in a number of cities in the States recently and spotted the above on most buses and was very impressed. They were being used by alot of people also. Why aren't Dublin Bus fitted with them to give people flexibility in their commute or as a means of coming back from Enniskerry is broke down etc.

km991148

do they lock as well?
otherwise get on/off at each stop to check it was still there..

Grimpeur

I was in Montpellier last week (lovely city btw) and took the 'Luas' from the suburbs to the city centre.
Several people got on and off with bikes along the way, despite the fact the carriage was well populated - no one appeared to even notice.

The trams look the exact same as the Dublin Luas, both inside and out, so I can't see why bringing bikes on board should ever have been an issue.
Same for the Dart.

On a side note: Why, when legislation is drafted, does it take so long to implement?
eg: Bikes on public transport and having to use crappy cycle paths.

tomasrojo

The whole thing is nothing to do with practicalities. It is to do with a persistent bias against cyclists in Ireland (which seems to be changing somewhat now).

For example, in the last twelve months I have been thrown off a Dublin Bus for bringing on a compact folding bike, and harrassed by a warden when wheeling my bike through the courtyard of the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham. The bizarre thing about the second case is that
1) I'd checked and the sign outside the courtyard said No Cycling, not No Bicycles
2) I was only in the courtyard because I was looking for a warden to hand in to Lost Property a handbag I'd found in the grounds

Big argument ensued about whether the rule was No Bicycles or No Cycling.

The next time I was in the IMMA I noticed that the No Cycling sign is gone and replaced with No Bicycles. The only explanation for this kind of zeal is strong anti-cyclist bias. I never get any hassle bring a stroller onto public transport or wheeling it through the IMMA.

mockler007

yeh lazy git, im faster than the luas, whats the point in having a bike if you want to get the shaggin luas

empirix

mockler007 wrote: »

yeh lazy git, im faster than the luas, whats the point in having a bike if you want to get the shaggin luas

well for my mates they could get the luas at stephens green to sandyford and hit the mountains from there, much handier for mtbiking!!

Tayto2000

I've taken bikes on trains with friends on trips in a couple of places, it's a really mixed bag as to what you can get. On trains in the UK where we paid for bike carriage, we got everything from a dedicated bike rack in the guard's van to being instructed over our protests by the conductor to place them in a wheelchair bay in the passenger compartment . Oh, the dirty looks we got...

More recently, we took a trip to Carrick On Shannon to do a bit of the kingfisher trail. We checked and were told that there were absolutely NO BIKES ALLOWED on the train there. So, having observed that there's no restrictions at all on luggage, we decided to perform an experiment. I got a cardboard bike box from a shop, my friend got a proper official bike bag and the third just took off his wheels and a few other bits then wrapped a couple of black sacks around the whole thing. Having converted our bicycles to luggage, we then boarded. The only hassle we got was from guy who brought on a wardrobe sized case on wheels (larger than anything we had, even the box!) and tried to remove the black sacked bicycle (Wheels off, handlebars sideways, pedals off, saddle down) from the open space where it was claiming it shouldn't be on the train! We pointed out it was luggae, same as his, there was a small argument, he ended up sitting on his case glaring at us for the next few stops

The only problem we had with the railway was on our return, the guy at the station actually left his desk and came out on to the platform to tell us no bikes on the train (We had just arrived and hadn't dismantled them yet). No bother once they were packed!

Victor

Tayto2000 wrote: »

More recently, we took a trip to Carrick On Shannon to do a bit of the kingfisher trail. We checked and were told that there were absolutely NO BIKES ALLOWED on the train there.

All services via Carrick-on-Shannon are listed as being able to carry bikes, except some Sunday services are scheduled with commuter trains.

Any 22000-class train should be able to take 3 bikes, sometimes 6.

Tayto2000

Victor wrote: »

All services via Carrick-on-Shannon are listed as being able to carry bikes, except some Sunday services are scheduled with commuter trains.

Any 22000-class train should be able to take 3 bikes, sometimes 6.

Yup, this was back in 2007, I should have said 'relatively recently' to the previous trip. The absurdity of the Kingfisher trail being trumpeted by Bord Failte (I think) and the lack of ways to get bikes to it short of driving or coming at it from NI got a mention on national radio at the time. Glad to hear it got sorted. I think the Greens were looking into it as well more recently.

ISAW

Tayto2000 wrote: »

Yup, this was back in 2007, I should have said 'relatively recently' to the previous trip. The absurdity of the Kingfisher trail being trumpeted by Bord Failte (I think) and the lack of ways to get bikes to it short of driving or coming at it from NI got a mention on national radio at the time. Glad to hear it got sorted. I think the Greens were looking into it as well more recently.

http://www.irishrail.ie/news_centre/news.asp?action=view&news_id=987

Bikes will be carried free of charge on DART and Commuter services (including Dublin commuter and Cork commuter services) between 10.00hrs and 15.30hrs, and after 19.00hrs, Monday to Friday and all day Saturday and Sunday (excluding times of major fixtures / concerts and similar events at Aviva / Croke Park).

In addition, cyclists taking their bikes on Intercity services can now book bicycle spaces online at www.irishrail.ie for €6 per journey.

ne1880

Nothing changed with the attitude of Luas against bikes. Yesterday in the lashing rain whilst cycling to work I got a puncture, changed the tube and 2 mins down the road got another puncture. Decided to pop on the Luas at Cheeverstown and go back the last 3 stops to the end of the line @ City West to go home and get the car. Luas arrives at the stop, as good as empty. No one even got off. I am there pressing the button to open the door - which didn't open and the Luas took off. So the driver obviously saw me at the station and kept the doors on lock - wan*er.

maguic24

eightyfish wrote: »

This may have been mentioned before in a thread, but I couldn't find it if it was...

Why can't you take your bike on the Luas?
Even off-peak?

This is ludicrous! The govt are trying to promote cycling in the city and you can't even take your bike on the public tram off peak where there is plenty of room like you can in every other European city!!!!!

Really annoying!

[/rant]

Has anyone got any stick for taking a bike on the tram?

It's absolutely ridiculous, every other European city allows bikes and even dogs on the trains/trams etc. We have no tolerance in this country for either.

Michael D Not Higgins

maguic24 wrote: »

It's absolutely ridiculous, every other European city allows bikes and even dogs on the trains/trams etc. We have no tolerance in this country for either.

In fairness the DART allows bikes off peak and small dogs.

maguic24

Michael D Not Higgins wrote: »

In fairness the DART allows bikes off peak and small dogs.

I don't use the DART and didn't know this. I was in Berlin during the summer and everyone had their dogs and their bikes on the trains. Our transport system is a bit crap in fairness, buses and the luas are choc-o-bloc during rush hour, never noticed this in Berlin. There was always room for a few bikes and big dogs.

RainyDay

maguic24 wrote: »

I don't use the DART and didn't know this. I was in Berlin during the summer and everyone had their dogs and their bikes on the trains.

What kind of bikes do the dogs generally ride?

dogsears

RainyDay wrote: »

What kind of bikes do the dogs generally ride?

Sit up and beg?:P