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Not always a pleasure: With the bike in the regional express
Photo: Fabian Sommer / dpa
These days a country is experiencing how it is not possible.
Anyone who tries to squeeze their bike into a local train, which is also overcrowded because of the 9-euro ticket, will see how poorly train and bike often go together in practice.
Sometimes it is even explicitly forbidden to take it with you.
And even if you are traveling with the much more expensive ICE, you cannot be sure that you will be able to reserve a seat for your bike.
How things could be improved will be discussed on Tuesday and Wednesday at the “Bahn.Rad.Parken” conference in Berlin.
There it is mainly about parking the bicycle at the station.
A successful strategy is presented using the example of the Netherlands.
There is also the question of whether and how existing car parks can be converted into bicycle garages.
But taking bikes on the trains should also be an issue again and again.
"The 9-euro ticket shows once again that not only must the funds for rail transport be increased, but that the combination of bicycles and trains could make a substantial contribution" to the growth of environmentally friendly means of transport, said Thomas Prechtl, President of the Federal Association of Local Rail Transport.
In an industry initiative, the organization has joined forces with the Pro-Rail Alliance, Deutsche Bahn, the Pro Bahn passenger association, the VCD traffic club and the Federal Bicycle Future Association.
Together they want to improve the interaction between train and bicycle.
A discussion paper by the group makes a conscious distinction between bicycle transit with and without taking a bicycle on the train.
If the trains are too full, additional wheels on board would displace other passengers, it is said: »In particular peak times or lines, every square meter in the trains is needed for seating and standing room.
Bicycles on the train not only disrupt operations, but sometimes take up the space of several standing places per bike.« Among other things, better parking facilities at the stations are needed, but also sharing offers.
Then at the destination you can cycle the last part of the way, even if you don't have your own model with you.
"In times when there is regularly room for taking bicycles, booking and reserving bicycles could become easier and more predictable," the paper continues.
In addition, an “expansion of carriage capacities through more train capacity and redesigned vehicle interiors is desirable”.
This should be reconciled with the “demands of passengers without bicycles”.
»No rules for one at the expense of the other«
Procuring more wagons, but also setting up more dense cycles, takes time.
The paper speaks of implementation by 2030. Parking, sharing or booking alternatives can be implemented more quickly.
Bike-and-ride facilities for bicycles could help with increasing bottlenecks in park-and-ride facilities for cars.
By the end of the decade, politicians should provide three billion euros for the expansion of bicycle parking.
Modern technology should help with the use of rental bikes at the destination: »For this we would like an open booking system for rental and sharing offers in the form of a web and app solution, in order to be able to integrate them into the systems of municipalities, public transport authorities, associations, bike rental, To be able to integrate transport and sharing companies.« The fact is that poorly informed passengers are already blocking the trains.
"We all use the train and bus together, there should be no rules for one at the expense of the other," says Karl-Peter Naumann, honorary chairman of the Pro Bahn passenger association.
And if you want or have to take your bike with you?
Then, for example, intelligently designed tariffs should ensure that this happens outside of peak times.
»The aim is to lure bicycle customers onto trains that are less crowded, so as not to displace train passengers when demand is high or to reduce complaints from other passengers.«
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