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This reminds me (but in a separate thread, as it's rather off-topic): why do so few UK buses carry bicycles? Where I grew up (near Seattle), buses universally had a bike rack on the front. From a quick google, this seems to be true of most American cities, though notably not New York.
Is there a reason this isn't practical in the UK? It seems like quite a low-cost win for enabling longer non-car journeys.
I wondered this having seen said bus bike racks in Seattle (funnily enough) and in Canada.
But it's very much a DVSA says no for the UK. There was an attempt a few years ago to get approval for a trial in Bath, but the DVSA refused it - detailed on this webpage:
we do not on principle accept cycle racks on the front of British PSVs. If a VTP5 was submitted for this vehicle modification it would be refused because of the large number of sharp projections from the rack itself as well as any cycles carried increasing the risk of injury in a pedestrian impact. As a secondary issue I consider the view to the front will be seriously compromised towards the nearside pavement where we want drivers to have a clear view of any relatively short people including children at the kerbside.
[Foreword 8th of June 2015: There are moves afoot to try and create a working group of Local Authorities, MPs, the DfT, Bus Companies, and hopefully a co-operative DVSA. Should you wish to be invol…
As we know, other countries do this already. There must be data somewhere to confirm whether the DVSA's fears are correct, or if they're unfounded. That other countries seem to do it quite happily does suggest that at least some of those fears are not based in reality.
There are some buses that take bicycles inside the vehicle. Stagecoach in the Lakes run a few bike friendly routes.
Go North East XLines and East Yorkshire brand new MMC's both allow 2 bicycles onboard with specialist racks inside the bus. Inside I presume it's down to space with people taking prams, mobility scooters etc. Outside racks I guess just aren't popular enough to justify cost.
Ember have a max payload of 4 bikes, 2 internally and the rest in the hold and have been running this since 2022 on their Glasgow to Dundee and Edinburgh on their Yutong electric services.
I'd agree that putting racks on the front of vehicles is a bad idea. You don't want protruding metal on the front of something that might hit someone and kill them as a result.
Racks on the back may have more benefit (a car crashing into the back of a bus would just squash the bikes) but in reality somewhere inside or a dedicated trailer is probably better as on the back they might get nicked, and bike racks are accepted on the back of cars so I doubt the DVSA would object to that.
Having said that there's really very little benefit gained from taking a bike on a city bus, because you can easily cycle faster than one. Cycles were (may still be) permitted on Hamburg's city buses other than in the peaks when I lived there, you just held it in the wheelchair area if a wheelchair user didn't need the space (you had to get off if they did), and I think I saw one once in that whole year and it was a kid's BMX, and never had a use-case for taking mine (though I took it on the train plenty of times). Might be useful if you get a puncture, I suppose, at a push, though punctures can be avoided by fitting anti puncture tyres like Schwalbe Marathon Plus.
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Ember have a max payload of 4 bikes, 2 internally and the rest in the hold and have been running this since 2022 on their Glasgow to Dundee and Edinburgh on their Yutong electric services.
They're unofficially carried on some rail replacement buses that are operated using coaches, you just put them underneath, I've seen it a few times. The publicity says no, but that's more to set the right expectations as a bus type vehicle could be used with no provision, though I did once see a rail replacement operated by UK North (not well known for their adherence to rules or law) allowing one inside the saloon.
Stagecoach used to accept two bikes on each Oxford to Cambridge X5 when those were operated using coaches and I did see this used a few times, often by older children. But that kind of bus service is more like a substitute railway. The loss of this facility is one reason (of many) that the switch to double decker bus operation has been a big negative on this route.
Around here (Fife), there are plenty of inter-town routes on mostly-uncongested A-roads served by city buses that are most certainly faster than I can cycle. Even on routes where it's theoretically possible to cycle faster, people may not want to cycle that far, or there may not be safe cycle routes between points A and B (though the latter is certainly more common in America!).
For reference, my "motivating example" is cycling from St Andrews to Leuchars station (~30 minutes according to Google Maps, a little longer because I'm a slow cyclist) to pick up a friend, mostly for fun, on the assumption that I could take my bike back on the bus; turns out I couldn't, and had to cycle back home. Doable, but a little annoying, especially as I was hoping to spend the bus ride back with the friend instead of briefly meeting them at the station then finding them again at home!
I'd agree that putting racks on the front of vehicles is a bad idea. You don't want protruding metal on the front of something that might hit someone and kill them as a result.
I am curious about this, as there does seem to be a significant safety risk, but it hasn't stopped the US - I wonder if there's been any research into the risk in practice? Or the US has just chosen to ignore the risk, which wouldn't be entirely unusual…
Some googling's found me https://www.bikesonbuses.com/locations/uk/, which shows some efforts to fit these racks in the UK, mostly on the backs of buses, so that does seem to be an option. (Incidentally, the authors of that site also seem to like the term "DafT" - I wonder if they can be found around these forums! Or it's just an obvious abuse of the acronym…) There is a safety trade-off, though, as a rear-mounted bike rack means the driver can't see if the passenger is still trying to remove their bike when departing.
I spent much time in Daytona Beach (FL) and most (all?) of the service buses had front mounted racks - which unnerved me as a pedestrian). Asking one driver why they were located there and not on the back, I was told there were many cases of cyclists being stranded as the driver forgetfully drove off before unloading was completed. Apparently it is easier for them to monitor this when at the front.
Ember have a max payload of 4 bikes, 2 internally and the rest in the hold and have been running this since 2022 on their Glasgow to Dundee and Edinburgh on their Yutong electric services.
Some googling's found me https://www.bikesonbuses.com/locations/uk/, which shows some efforts to fit these racks in the UK, mostly on the backs of buses, so that does seem to be an option. (Incidentally, the authors of that site also seem to like the term "DafT" - I wonder if they can be found around these forums! Or it's just an obvious abuse of the acronym…) There is a safety trade-off, though, as a rear-mounted bike rack means the driver can't see if the passenger is still trying to remove their bike when departing.
I'd be more concerned about possible theft, though (I doubt they want people using locks as if it fails the bike will be stuck there).
Regarding your examples, though, interurban services aren't city buses, and are a different argument entirely. Ideally in a world of quality they wouldn't be operated using city bus vehicles (in Europe they're more coachlike), but that's where we are I guess.
Borders Buses have 23 vehicles equipped to carry bikes on board. 3 are double decks which can carry 4 bikes, the remainder single decks which can carry 2 bikes all in special racks. These buses can be found on routes X62, X95 and 253 serving Edinburgh.
When the HebdeN Bridge local minibus network was recast in 2003 going from routes H1-H6 to routes A to I (and weekend service 906 Hardcastle Craggs to Widdop), they had rear bicycle racks. This lasted until the next recast in 2012 to routes 594-598 & 900/1. The 906 may have had bike racks for longer, but it has now been withdrawn.
Some googling's found me https://www.bikesonbuses.com/locations/uk/, which shows some efforts to fit these racks in the UK, mostly on the backs of buses, so that does seem to be an option. (Incidentally, the authors of that site also seem to like the term "DafT" - I wonder if they can be found around these forums! Or it's just an obvious abuse of the acronym…) There is a safety trade-off, though, as a rear-mounted bike rack means the driver can't see if the passenger is still trying to remove their bike when departing.
I think so, as did Nottingham City Transport when they ran the service with the Tridents. The bike racks were removed when the Tridents went to Transdev
Someone here will know better, but I seem to remember pre-First, Truronian had rear bike racks on the Helston - Lizard corridor? I don’t think I ever saw them being used tho!
Stagecoach Chesterfield had 2 E200 with rear bike holders, 37183 was one, not sure if these will be retained as Hulleys are operating the replacement for the H1 service that they were fitted for.
so few UK buses carry bicycles...
Is there a reason this isn't practical in the UK? It seems like quite a low-cost win for enabling longer non-car journeys.
The key problem is exactly the same as with bikes on trains where '2 per train' rules apply - the limited capacity means that it is only useful with either a reservation system or a service frequent enough that waiting for the next one is not a problem if the first to arrive is full. Otherwise cyclists cannot rely on it (too high a risk of the bike spaces being already full), so many don't use it and what provision there is often goes unused. Coach services with reserved seats could add bike bookings to their existing system, but bus services are not usually kitted out for reservations. Most high-frequency bus routes are short urban ones, which tend to be too short to be much use for cycle carriage.
I am curious about this, as there does seem to be a significant safety risk, but it hasn't stopped the US - I wonder if there's been any research into the risk in practice? Or the US has just chosen to ignore the risk, which wouldn't be entirely unusual…
Some googling's found me https://www.bikesonbuses.com/locations/uk/, which shows some efforts to fit these racks in the UK, mostly on the backs of buses, so that does seem to be an option. (Incidentally, the authors of that site also seem to like the term "DafT" - I wonder if they can be found around these forums! Or it's just an obvious abuse of the acronym…) There is a safety trade-off, though, as a rear-mounted bike rack means the driver can't see if the passenger is still trying to remove their bike when departing.
I wouldn't be surprised if the US just ignores the risk. Their recent record on pedestrian safety in general is abysmal. Pedestrian deaths in traffic collisions reached a 40 year high in 2021 in the US, but have plummeted in other developed countries in that time. I know some people definitely point to vehicle design (particularly regarding pickups and SUVs), though other factors such as road design and speed limits probably play a part as well. But it seems clear that whatever standards exist for designing the front of a bus go completely out the window when you stick a bike rack on the front. Bikes are obviously not designed for hitting a pedestrian sideways, and I don't see how any front-mounted bike rack can avoid that issue.
I believe that bike racks are impractical and unsafe. It would be great to have a unified standard for transporting bikes, as I have used a special mounting system inside buses, and sometimes I have to put them in the luggage compartment where they can get damaged
I remember once witnessing a passenger being refused travel on a National Express service out of Birmingham because they had a bike with them. They were advised to go to New Street and get the train instead.
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