THE City of Greater Bendigo council has spoken out against the state government’s plan to ban bikes on peak hour train services. The council this week voted to write to Transport Minister Lynne Kosky “expressing serious concern and disappointment” with the ban. Strathfieldsaye Ward councillor and state government employee Keith Reynard moved the motion, urging the council to meet with senior V/Line management to highlight the negative impacts of the decision on local train travellers. “This is not a suitable solution to the increased patronage of public transport,” he said. “Bicycles are an integral part of the solution to road congestion, pollution and transport issues. “The City of Greater Bendigo has a major focus on encouraging the increased use of bicycles as commuter modes of transport, therefore the state government and V/Line ruling to ban bicycles in peak-hour times is counter to our approach of encouraging the use of bicycles.” Council’s City Strategy director Jan Boynton agreed, describing the policy as a retrograde step. “It is well recognised that carbon emissions from private vehicles contribute significantly to the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and that a shift towards more sustainable forms of transport is essential for Bendigo residents to meet the challenges of climate change and to reduce our everyday environmental impacts,” she said. “Cycling is an integral part of meeting these challenges, and the City of Greater Bendigo is actively encouraging cycling as a commuter mode of transport. “When used in combination with public transport such as V/Line trains, bicycles enable members of our community to utilise a transport network that gets them where they want to go, while reducing an individual’s ecological footprint). Ms Boynton said the government’s move was different to other policies and projects in the city. “The City of Greater Bendigo has recently appointed a sustainable transport officer and partnered with the state government to introduce the TravelSmart program to Bendigo, with the aim of encouraging people to substitute some of their trips made in cars with more sustainable forms of transport such as walking, cycling or catching public transport,” she said. “Banning bicycles on peak hour trains is contrary to this approach, and appears a particularly retrograde step at a time when we should be encouraging increased usage of both cycling and public transport.” Acting Transport Minister Tim Pallas defended the government’s decision. “The decision to restrict bikes from being carried during peak periods on V/Line trains has been made in the interests of commuter safety and comfort,” he said. “We have experienced a massive 49 per cent patronage growth on the Bendigo line during the past year and this has led to crowding during peak times. “We want to ensure train services are catering for as many people as possible and that the journey is both safe and comfortable.”
