ACTION delivers more buses with bike racks

[Buzz Killington]

Media Release: Katy Gallagher MLA

ACT Chief Minister and Minister for Territory and Municipal Services, Katy Gallagher, said today that 80% of ACTION buses will have bike racks fitted to them by 30 June 2012.

"The ACT Government is committed to providing bike and ride options for Canberrans as an easy, environmentally friendly and healthy means for people to use their bike to access public transport," the Chief Minister said.

"The ACT continues to have the highest level of bike racks on buses in Australia. Currently, 73% of the bus fleet is fitted with bike racks and the Government is on track to achieve its goal of 80% (or 342 buses) by the end of the financial year. A total of $336,000 will have been spent on the initiative.

"This will be a significant achievement in boosting the sustainable transport options in the ACT, as detailed in the recently launched Transport for Canberra policy.

"The majority of bus routes and services will provide patrons with the option to ride their bike to the bus stop and store it on the bus for the journey.

"However, it not possible to fit bike racks on every bus, particularly the large capacity buses, due to turning circle restrictions which would require modification to intersections and roundabouts for the buses to safely use them. While all new buses on order will be built so they are capable of being fitted with bike racks, the larger capacity buses will not be fitted," the Chief Minister said.
ACTION aims to prioritise bike rack equipped buses to high-frequency routes. Their goal is to achieve the right balance between meeting patronage demand by scheduling large capacity buses while also providing bike-rack equipped buses at regular intervals.

Each bike rack can accommodate two bikes and is easy to load and unload from the bus. The on-bus bike storage service is free of charge. Patrons only have to pay their normal bus fare to travel on the bus.

"The ability to fit bike racks will be considered in future bus purchasing decisions, alongside the core business criteria of delivering a fleet that provides accessible mass passenger transport," the Chief Minister said.

"The ACT Government will continue to provide a range of bike and ride options for Canberrans.

"In addition to providing bike racks on buses, the ACT Government is also providing various other facilities for Canberrans to bike and ride. We have a range of options for cyclists, including numerous bike rails, bike storage cages and lockers installed across the ACT for use free of charge," the Chief Minister concluded.

For further information on bike and ride visit www.transport.act.gov.au