Building the bike bus army

BY REBECCA ZHOU
Bicycles NSW and the City of Sydney are striving to make Sydneysiders adopt cycling as their primary mode of transport through a new group cycling initiative.
The ‘bike bus’ is a system where cyclists begin riding at a certain point and pick up other cyclists at bus stops along the way.
‘People who want to ride to work or school but didn’t feel that it was safe enough to now can,’ CEO of Bicycles NSW Alex Unwin said.
The bike bus idea is being proposed as a safe and reliable alternative to driving cars or even catching a regular bus. Plus, switching to a bike can save up to 1.5 tonnes of greenhouses emissions per annum for a daily 10 kilometre trip.
In August this year the City of Sydney installed 500 new bicycle rings and the council has now committed $70 million to cycling infrastructure over the next four years.
‘I have joined the bike bus on several occasions and it’s a great idea but the real key to get where we are now to the standards of cities like Copenhagen is infrastructure,’ said Greens councillor Chris Harris.
Under the City’s Cycling Strategy, four primary continuous cycleways will be constructed on Bourke, Union, College Streets and Missenden Road. These will each cover an average of 4.3 kilometres. The action plan aims to increase cycling trips made into the city by 10 per cent by 2016.
‘The City is committed to creating a pedestrian and cycling friendly city where walking and cycling are natural first choices for our residents and visitors,’ said Lord Mayor Clover Moore, who is also a regular bike bus rider.
‘The bike bus has made cycling a regular transport choice for me,’ she said. ‘Riding in a group gives new cyclists the confidence to ride on Sydney roads while learning safe riding techniques and skills like hand signals.’
The bike bus ‘drivers’ are experienced volunteers who lead the groups along the safest routes. Routes generally begin or end at Sydney’s CBD and extend as far as Homebush and are labelled with three categories; from the inexperienced ‘social’ group, to an intermediate level to the veteran cyclist’s ‘express’ route.
The web continues to expand, with new routes recently created by Leichhardt council that cover the inner-city area. Bikeast, an eastern suburbs branch of Bicycles NSW also boasts a ‘bike buddy’ system where cyclists can arrange for a riding partner who lives in their vicinity to join.
‘I started riding to work a few years ago and enjoyed it so much I couldn’t go back to catching the train,’ said Fiona Campbell, a bike bus driver who leads groups of up to eight riders each morning.
‘I began group cycling with my sister’s friend who had always said she wanted to ride but wasn’t brave enough to.’
‘It’s a great way to meet people too,’ said Chris Moore, a volunteer from Bicycle NSW. ‘We recently held a picnic breakfast for over 40 regular riders and leaders.’