Oh dear, looks like the Government's attempts to develop a more joined-up national transport infrastructure is about to get another kick in the teeth from First Great Western.
On the Friday before the bank holiday weekend, I skipped onto the platform in my usual upbeat manner to find a couple of annoyed cyclists berating a member of station staff. The reason? A poster had been put up telling the cyclists that, for peak hour London trains, they will now have to make a reservation for their bike!
Not unexpectedly, the cyclists were pretty furious - in part because they believed that First Great Western had very deliberately chosen one of the quietest travel days of the year on which to put up the poster in order to prevent a mob of angry cyclists from venting their spleen.
I suspect that many cyclists are not going to be happy about this - and I don't blame them one little bit.
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
On yer bike...or not as the case may be!
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5 comments:
The problem with some cyclists is that they cause delays. I am a cyclist myself and I see almost daily cases of cyclists, through ignorance, delaying the train. They stand at the wrong end of the platform, they dont take off their panniers before the train gets there, they turn up at the last minute and everyone else has to wait, etc. etc. etc.
Leaflets are available but who bothers to check? Thats why they have posters. Maybe FGW want to manage this a little better so as not to inconvenience other commuters such as yourself, who is quick to complain when the trains are late.
Other train companies have reservation rules, but according to you its only FGW who are trying to sabotage greener travel. The reservation rules at FGW have been in force since at least April that I know of, most train managers use common sense and don't always enforce the rules.
It makes sense to do those other jobs such as replacing posters when it is quiet. I can't see the platform staff doing it when they are busy dispaching trains. That would be rediculous! You don't seem to know very much about time management.
Really, I think that if FGW were perfect and all travel was free you would still find something to moan about.
Look cyclists by the very definition of the word should cycle not expect to delay everyone else by using the trains its about time FGW started charging them unless they ride one of those fold up bikes
Bikes and peak trains do not mix. You just have to look at the bike park at Paddington and Oxford to see what i mean. If they all tried to get on the train it would be chaos. Regular commuters buy a cheap second bike and leave it at their destination station every day. Leave the on train spaces to irregular trips.
I am currently researching a one hour TV investigative programme about the state of the nation's rail services.
We are in the very early stages of research and would like to talk to some commuters about their experiences.
I have been reading the posts on this website with interest and I would really appreciate it if I could talk to you in greater detail on the phone.
If you feel passionately about your train journeys - if your are frustrated and angry, or if you are very happy about your experience with trains - please email me to arrange a time to talk
My email: trainsandrail2009@googlemail.com
Many thanks,
Jessica
You guys think you have problems on that side of the pond? Well, listen to this; I live in Chicago, the United States second busiest city in terms of the rail system. Once a year, like clockwork, they claim they're going bankrupt and need to raise the rates. What's worse is that every scumbag in the world use the train as their personal living quarters. And God forbid you should confront these people if they happen to be spread out across two or three seats and sleeping. That makes you the bad guy. You're then called a racist and much worse. Besides that problem, the cars are always filthy, noisy and in disrepair.
I'm sorry to hear about your problems over there but I wish that was the type of problem we had to deal with instead all this other crap!
Great blog by the way. You've got a wonderful talent for the written word. Thanks for sharing and keep up the great work!
Sincerely,
www.thebornloser.net
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