Want to take your bike with you, on a train, to the TdF?

[tiermat]

Basically, the train companies in the North are saying fuggedaboutit:

http://road.cc/content/news/119546-dont-take-bikes-watch-tour-yorkshire-say-local-train-companies

[Kim]

Still better than the outright ban that usually happens whenever more people than usual might want to take bikes on trains.

Anyway, I was under the impression that Yorkshire was basically going to be closed for the duration.   

[Canardly]

Great to see our train companies are stepping up to meet the demands of the biggest sporting event in Europe.

[teethgrinder]

Looks like a crazy business model to me.
They predict a surge in demand of their product and instead of trying to meet that demand, they tell their customers to f off.

[Thor]

Looks like a crazy business model to me.
They predict a surge in demand of their product and instead of trying to meet that demand, they tell their customers to f off.

The business model only works when you have a monopoly, which most TOCs have, on "their" lines. 

Ditto the water companies, who introduce hosepipe bans in the summer, to discourage use of their product. 'Course, they get paid regardless.

[Kim]

Looks like a crazy business model to me.
They predict a surge in demand of their product and instead of trying to meet that demand, they tell their customers to f off.

TdF spectators and cycle tourists aren't their customers (or at least, not the ones they really care about).  Commuters are their customers.

[Canardly]

...and look at the additional business you could drum up at marginal cost. Seems to be operated by the same people that cant see sense in reusing the Great Central.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

Railways want to run their carriages full all the time. That approach gives more profit than having lots of extra rolling stock that only gets fully loaded a couple of times a year/ month/ week. So, shorter trains with less luggage capacity and higher ticket prices at times that people want to travel mean big profits.

[teethgrinder]

That's true LWAB. But their trains aren't always full, which is why you can often get a bargain train ticket and also why trains are cheaper "off peak." I've had a whole carriage to myself more than once. Getting the bikes on is the sticking point but they would mostly be going to the same place for Le Tour. I don't know if a freight container could be linked to a passenger train. You'd get a lot of bikes in a 40ft container.
If done off peak, I wouldn't be surprised if it could be done.

[David Martin]

There are also interesting T&Cs for TOCs with regard to timekeeping. And these can have *very* stringent penalties. Being held up by a peloton attempting to cram their bikes onto a train can lose them far more than the fares they take.  And the market for commuters is much bigger than three days in July. They have a bigger picture.

[Canardly]

Yes but danger of group think and entropy kicks in. Emerging market has got to be cyclists resulting in new passenger miles. Next question how do we accommodate them? Not how do we meet out targets.

[Jaded]

Except the current challenge is to get more passengers on trains and cycles reduce the number of passengers on trains. Reasons in various posts upthread.

The groupthink should be about bikes at either end, or similar.

[Kim]

The groupthink should be about bikes at either end, or similar.

Which, with the conspicuous exception of Mordor Central, it mainly is.  TOCs have been making decent efforts to improve bike parking/hire facilities at stations, to facilitate multi-modal journeys by their target customers: commuters.

[Jaded]

Yes, agreed.

[mattc]

Except the current challenge is to get more passengers on trains and cycles reduce the number of passengers on trains. Reasons in various posts upthread.

Probably true in rush-hour - but most off-peak trains (IME, anyway!) have reduced carriage-count. So they COULD add cyclists (with their bikes) if they wanted.

OT:
my bike DOES take up extra space. I'd be happy to pay a little extra if it was as easy as taking a massive suitcase on with me!

[Jaded]

Yes, but... you pay for extra space when you are on the train, but when you aren't, is there someone else there? And if there is always someone else there, then there cannot be enough bike spaces.