Bikes on the Dart

Jupiter36

Does anyone here know if you can take your bike onto the Dart? Don't intend to travel during rush hour.

diceyreilly

Fairly sure you can.. Once the train isn't packed!!

penexpers

Official answer : no (unless it's a foldup bike).

Unofficial answer : it depends entirely on the discretion of the staff at the station.

tomasrojo

You can't officially bring a bike onto the Dart or Luas, unless it's a folding bike. Dublin Bus doesn't have a policy specifically for folding bikes, and I did once get thrown off a Dublin Bus for bringing on a folding bike. My brother tried bringing his non-foldling bike onto a nearly empty Luas in the evening and got thrown off. Oddly enough, the rough-looking guys drinking cans of beer were a-ok with the driver.

You might get away with it occasionally. The National Cycling Framework put forward the idea of allowing bikes onto the Dart and Luas, but there doesn't seem to have been any movement on this at all.

Anyone heard differently?

Jupiter36

Thanks everyone. Was trying to combine training with life and cycle from Dunboyne to Greystones; get the Dart back to city centre and cycle back from there. Might not risk it so....:rolleyes:

km991148

been stopped before, after getting a flat and having no spares with me.. had to wheel back from clontarf to harolds x.. not amused (and in only shorts..)

defo wouldnt risk it..!

edit - on a very quiet sunday as well..

seanhunt

Yea officially they won't let you but some stations you might get lucky, tho i've taken a canoe back from a city center outdoor shop to bray once and they said nothing... ! boggling... I've gotten on to a bus after blowing out a tire around donnybrook cycling home to bray one time, the driver begrudgingly let me on but said if a passenger in a wheelchair or a person with a buggy wants to get on i've to get off, which was fair enough I suppose...

but if you investigate the bus eireann intercounty service time tables and pick up locations, there's stops in greystones and delgany as well as bray, they'd let you on with the bike stored in the luggage compartment, a bit more expensive but worth looking into

tomasrojo

Very good point. I'd forgotten about the intercity buses. I used to frequently put a bike on them when I lived in Galway, but visited my folks in Dublin at the weekend.

blorg

Bus Eireann is €11.50 (on top of the fare) to take a bike which is a lot to go to Greystones or Bray.

@seanhunt- AFAIK there is no regulation against carrying canoes, just bikes. If you cover the bike completely it would become a large piece of luggage and you should be able to carry it. I've carried my bike in a bike suitcase on the LUAS without issue.

It is government policy that the Dart will have to start carrying bikes at some point in the future.

AssaultedPeanut

blorg wrote: »

It is government policy that the Dart will have to start carrying bikes at some point in the future.

:)I really hope this is true, the sooner the better.

loyatemu

the Rosslare InterCity stops in Greystones and (if its one of the newer trains) you can bring your bike on it.

Cape Clear

Took a bike from Connolly to Maynooth one time an dback by Dublin bus with no problems. The only ones not impressed with me were the social welfare mothers and their obnoxious buggies as my bike and me stood proudly where they should be. What happened to stow the buggy and sit with the child. There's no harm in asking the worse that can be said is no!

tomasrojo

I don't wish to be humourless, but I'd prefer if people didn't imply that people who take children and buggies onto public transport are too poor to drive. We should really be encouraging people not to drive. I myself occasionally take a chlid and buggy onto the bus, off-peak.

That did sound a bit humourless actually, didn't it?

On a related note, my niece once was taking her son into town on the bus on her day off, and when she reprimanded the driver over something he'd done (pulling off rapidly causing them to fall over, I think it was) the bus driver told her to get a job. Alarming to think that that's how they think of their customers -- if you're on a bus outside rush hour, you're unemployed.

Bluefoam

tomasrojo wrote: »

if you're on a bus outside rush hour, you're unemployed.

+1

loyatemu

tomasrojo wrote: »

if you're on a bus outside rush hour, you're unemployed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaSi2Z74Ou8

tomasrojo

Ah, you cheeky scamps.

Victor

1. Strictly speaking its Intercity trains only and those few other trains (mostly based in Limerick) that are fitted with bike spaces.

2. Most staff will tolerate bikes, once they aren't making a nuisance.

3. Its unfair to other passengers to carry a bike at peak times.

4. If you have a bike on a commuter train, use the forward end of the carriage - if the train stops suddenly, then bike won't go flying.

Jupiter36 wrote: »

Thanks everyone. Was trying to combine training with life and cycle from Dunboyne to Greystones; get the Dart back to city centre and cycle back from there. Might not risk it so....:rolleyes:

Did I meet you on a commuter train in Docklands one evening?

murrier1

i t hink it is crazy not to allow bikes on the dart . i thought the goverment wanted to encourage us to use bikes more??????

trad

murrier1 wrote: »

i t hink it is crazy not to allow bikes on the dart . i thought the goverment wanted to encourage us to use bikes more??????

You're a tad out of date. The last government (greens) let us take our bikes on the dart for free. You can't bring it at peak times mon-fri but other than that you can take it the rest of the time.

I use it 5 to 10 times per week with my bike. It gets a bit interesting ehen some one brings along a tandem.