|While the roll-on bike trial has been welcomed by the cycling community, some concerns have been raised.
From the beginning of this month, the Sydney-Dubbo XPT service will offer a limited trial of roll-on bikes.
The trial aims to explore the feasibility of transporting bikes onboard long-distance regional trains. It will allow a small number of passengers at Central or Dubbo to board without the need for a bike box.
Kobi Shetty MP for Balmain and NSW Greens active transport spokesperson says:
“It is really positive to see steps being taken to make it easier for people to travel on trains with their bikes, but it’s clear more work needs to be done to ensure that this trial is effective.
“There is strong demand for people to be able to travel on all NSW train services with their bikes without the onerous and impractical task of boxing them up.
"At the end of the day, we need to make this as easy for people as possible. We want to encourage people to use public and active transport, but placing onerous restrictions on access will likely deter people from using this service, and may lead to a poor result during the trial period.
"The destination chosen for the trial is popular for bike-packing and mountain biking on weekends. However, the trial is only running Monday to Friday, and the size requirements for the bikes better fit regular commuter bikes, rather than the larger off-road bikes used in regional areas.
"These are issues that should be resolved to ensure an effective trial. I'm calling on Transport for NSW to work with the cycling community to better understand their needs, to see how this trial could be improved to ensure good uptake."
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