Sustainable Transport in Barking (and surrounding areas)

Micro hire vehicles

2012-01-28T18:09:00.000Z

Although I am basically a fan of micro hire vehicles, such as Zipcar (and the former Streetcar), I am rather disappointed by their pricing structure. I drive so rarely that I don't want to pay £59.50 for a year's Zipcar membership in case I never use it. I also note that they give you a free (at the point of use) mileage allowance, which expires after a certain time, and the daily hire fee includes up to 40 miles "free".

I was briefly a member of Streetcar, though I never used one of their cars. They were a commercial organisation (as is Zipcar) and they sent me plenty of e-mails to try to get me to drive one of their cars. There's a paradox here.

If anything, I need a true pay as you go microhire. I'm prepared to pay a small one off fee for joining - and this should stop (or reduce the amount of) people joining frivolously, but then I want to pay for only what I use - the Oystercard model. I accept that a modest one off fee per hiring will reduce hires for very short journeys. As things stand, whilst it will work out cheaper than car ownership, there's still the same incentive, albeit much smaller, to use a car to get your money's worth.

I suppose in fairness the target market here is car owners, rather than non car owners, but I would quite like to have the insurance policy of having a nearby car for hire for short periods.

Gold Card Discount on Oyster PAYG

2011-12-31T11:55:00.000Z

If you have an annual season ticket you will get a Gold Card that gives you a substantial discount on National Rail Fares. However, if you travel outside your season ticket's zones on Oyster PAYG, you won't get the God Card discount unless your Goldcard is linked to your Oyster Card. Apparently this is not automatically done when you buy the season ticket (at least at a station) and I have been told that some station staff have had to be pressed to do it - they don't always know about it and don't always check the written instructions

This situation arises where your employer is paying for your season ticket (perhaps a loan) by cheque. I imagine that if you buy on line the linking work is done in the back office.

The Gold Card Partner Card is essentially a Network Rail Card. http://www.railcard.co.uk/network is clear that the NRC does not give a discount on Oyster PAYG.

B&D council don't know what they've done

2011-11-05T00:23:00.001Z

On 15 August I asked B&D council for a list of all roads in the borough down which one cannot cycle in either / both directions fully. On 3 November I got this answer which can be reduced to "we don't know":

"Wedo not have a register classifying roads in this way, however with very few exceptionsalmost all roads in the Borough have provision for cycling in both directionsand where a road or part of a road does not make this provision, it is ourunderstanding that alternative routes for cyclists are available very nearby.You have been informed previously of the Council’s commitment and support forcyclists and I can inform you that [names of 2 officers] continue to beavailable to work with you for the benefit of cyclists and cycling as a whole."

Very few exceptions, eh? Please let me know the names of roads in postal Dagenham and Chadwell Heath that habe any kind of restriction on cycling. I wil try to compose my own list. I know Barking well enough to cover it myself, I think, but don't let me stop you!

High Speed Rail

2011-09-17T13:06:00.000+01:00

I'm not taking a view on the benefits of high speed rail for the UK, or of HS2 in particular, and it's not particularly relevant to Barking, but I do want to expose some logical flaws in an Economist editorial - at least as reported in 'The Week' (10 September 2011).

The first - and easiest to deal with - flaw:

Talking about "Second-tier" towns [like Stoke] , the writer calims that "their own rail services are likely to be reduced when the new line [HS2] is built". There is clearly no causal link here. Whether or not HS2 is built, rail services on the existing lines can be improved (subject to capacity) or worsened. I hope the writer was not being disingenuous rather than just illogical.

Second, the writer claims that high speed rail in France and Spain has benefitted the larger cities, rather than the smaller towns and cities linked to the high speed network. Maybe so, but exactly the same argument pertains to 'improving existing services'. Faster, more frequent and higher capacity rail services to/from London are likely to cause more people to go to - say - London, whether or not they comprise entirely new lines.

Proponents of HS2 say that the capacity increases possible on the existing network are not enough, and would bring too much disruption when lines and stations are closed during works. Quite obviously new lines bring additional capacity to the network as a whole, and the pro HS2 camp argue that the existing lines can be improved more easily once HS2 is built, quite simply because the proportion of an increased network that will have to close for upgrade work is smaller.

Real time bus information on the web

2011-09-04T23:47:00.000+01:00

http://countdown.tfl.gov.uk/

Branded as countdown, real time bus informatiom as displayed at bus stops is now on line.

At last a unified London Connection Map

2011-09-04T23:42:00.001+01:00

http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/passenger_services/maps/London_Rail_Tube_map.pdf

The National Rail website "London's Rail & Tube services map (which replaces the former London Connections map) shows all National Rail routes and stations within the Greater London area, together with London Underground, Docklands Light Railway and London Tramlink services and stations.
The map highlights principal interchange points and London Fares / Travelcard zones. It also shows the extent to which Oyster pay as you go is valid.
Leaflet copies of this map (with the London & South East map below on the reverse) are normally available from staffed National Rail stations in London and the South East and should now also be available from most London Underground stations."

Should say "replaces the former London Connections Maps" as for many years TfL (and its antecedents) puboished a map under this title. It was fairly recently displace by a map showing where Oyste PAYG could be used. Nevertheless, I welcome at long last one map (not two rivl versions) showing all London's Railways, along with the zones.

"Should now be available from most London Underground stations" is rather tentative, but the old ATOC map (and antecedents) never was. Is there reluctant acceptance that public transport is about where people want to go, and not about who runs which railway?

On line train tickets - Red Spotted Hanky

2011-08-29T10:57:00.000+01:00

Train fares supremo Barry Doe's knowledge of the complexities of train fares and ticket buying cannot readlity be condensed into a blogging site such as this, and is not always relevant for this context, but occasionally he has a little tip that's worth repeating.

In issue 677 of Rail magazazine he points out that redspottedhanky.com is the ony independent train ticket website that doesn't charge booking or credit card fees. I am still normally using Eastcoast, as previousy recommended by Barry, but I take it it is nor what he calls independent.

Trying out RSH for a journey I'm making revealed that the interface is virtually identical to Eastcoast's - and the tickets proferred the same selection. Not a scientific test, but at least there's consistency.

Barking Skyride

2011-08-25T19:31:00.000+01:00

Congratulations to all involved in the Barking & Dagenham Skyride last Sunday 21 August, especially council cycling officer Nick Davies. Thanks also to Charlie, Gerhard, Juwel and Stephanie for hosting an LCC stall in Barking Park. It generated quite a bit of interest.

Halcrow archive films - Victoria Line

2011-08-13T11:44:00.002+01:00

http://www.halcrow.com/Who-we-are/film_archive/Victoria-line-archive-film/

I recently Facebooked a link to a 1960s film of the Victoria Line station construction work at Oxford Circus. This is part of Halcrow's film archive, and their website says it it the first in a series of five films about the Victoria Line, but I can't see any links to the other four. Maybe they're being digitised.

Thug

2011-08-06T21:55:00.000+01:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5PqTlvfavM

This is a very shocking video of a man threatening to punch a cyclist in the face for no apparent reason in Watetloo Rd, Romford. The incident ws filmed on the cyclist's helmet camera.

The video contains offensive language by the man who got out of a car to confront the cyclist.

Elsenham airport

2011-08-03T00:17:00.000+01:00

Train fares supremo Barry Doe points out that train tickets from London to Elsenham are cheaper that those to, but also valid via. Stansted airport. An opportunity to save your self a little £. Dubious sustainability credentials I admit.

Pavement Cycling not 'blameworthy'?

2011-07-07T14:34:00.002+01:00

Just come across an interesting case concerning pavement cycling last
year in the High Court in which the judge made some interesting comments: [my emphasis]

http://www.bailii. org/ew/cases/ EWHC/QB/2010/ B11.html

"43. In my judgment, this piece of road was dangerous for all but the most experienced, traffic fast, confident and dominant of cyclists i.e. the 'serious' cyclist as Mr Ibbotson puts it, as opposed to the ordinary prudent cyclist using a cycle to go to work encumbered with his cyclerucksack.

44. In my judgment, although it is illegal for cyclists to use the pavement (unless it is specifically sanctioned by a local authority for shared use), when weighing up the danger to himself (cp danger to
pedestrians) it was a reasonable decision by the Claimant to ride on the pavements in this area rather than the road in the context of the duty of care owed to himself to take reasonable care for his own safety
whilst cycling. In my judgment, although illegal and potentially negligent in any action vis a vis a pedestrian, it was not "blameworthy" in terms of negligence in contributory negligence."

It would be interesting to know whether this has any implications for pavement cycling beyond deciding damagesas it seems to echo then Home Office Minister Paul Boateng's famous statement when pavement cycling FPNs were introduced that “The introduction of the fixed penalty is not aimed at responsible cyclists who sometimes feel obliged to use the pavement out of fear of traffic and who show consideration to other pavement users when doing so."

East Coast Abolish £5 minimum spend on ticket website

2011-07-01T18:06:00.001+01:00

My main objection to this limit is that it was applied after you had typed in all your credit card details, shoe size, mother's maiden name. A little programming tweak would have brought the warning up at a much earlier point in the process and saved irritation. East Coast's predecessor ignored me when I flagged this bug up, but fares guru Barry Doe has used his contact and achievd the better result of removal of the £5 minimum. I last fell for this bug buying a £4.20 ticket. I would have happily paid £5 to avoid the hassle, and finished up paying £5.20 to a competitor who charges £1 per transaction.

Thanks Barry, thanks East Coast (at last).

Death and injury on the footway: Cyclists and pedestrians: the risks

2011-06-25T21:15:00.000+01:00

This extract from the current issue of CTC's Cycle Digest might be helpful if you are confronted with opinion on cyclists and pedestrians / cycling on the pavement. It would seem to follow that the priority here is, as usual, dealing with the death and injury caused by motor vehicles and their drivers.

"cyclists very rarely cause pedestrians harm: just one pedestrian has been killed in collision with a pedal cycle in the past 2 years. In that time, there have been 1,070 pedestrians killed in collisions with motor vehicles. As for cases where the cyclist was found to have been acting illegally, there have been 3 other instances in the whole of the past decade, besides Jason Howard, where cyclists have been convicted following the deaths of pedestrians, two on the pavement, one on a grass verge.

By contrast, in 2005 - 09 there was an average of 45 pedestrians killed in collisions with motor vehicles on pavements or verges each year – that’s almost one a week.

Levels of prosecution

In total (i.e. including on-road as well as pavement collisions), there were 500 pedestrians and 104 cyclists killed on Britain’s road network in 2009 – that’s about 11 non-motorised users killed on average per week. Moreover, less than a quarter of all road fatalities ever lead to a prosecution, let alone a prison sentence – so that’s probably about 8-9 cyclists and pedestrians a week whose bereaved families then find the driver concerned faces no prosecution at all. And even when prosecuted and convicted, it is common for drivers who have killed pedestrians or cyclists to face fines of just a couple of hundred pounds."

Barking (& Dagenham) Skyride Local circuit

2011-06-12T16:47:00.001+01:00

The route of the Barking & Dagenham Local Skyride has been released - perhaps provisionally. See the map here:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=D&q=http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/ms%3Foe%3DUTF8%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26ie%3DUTF8%26hq%3D%26hnear%3D0x48761d9cb8584b29:0x58b96fc939fbb960,London%2BE10%2B5LP%26gl%3Duk%26hl%3Den%26vps%3D1%26jsv%3D346c%26authuser%3D0%26msa%3D0%26msid%3D210546813079394734054.0004a51ea766968508a4f

We should, I suppose, politely call it the Barking & Dagenham Skyride, but as it extends only as far east as Mayesbrook Park, it could rightly be called tha Barking Skyride

Potholes of Barking

2011-06-11T21:23:00.001+01:00

Potholes on my regular routes are something like old friends. One gets to know well what they look like over the years, and watches how they increase in size as time goes by. The analogy ends there though.

Pothole one (feat. Coke Can) in this blog is acoss the Road from The Brittania (as was) in Church Road. I thought I had reported this before, but have reported it just now for good measure.

http://www.fixmystreet.com/report/188968#update_165738

Pothole 2 (feat. beer can) is the worst, or second worse, of the series of defects in Salisbury Avenue on a signposted route from Salisbury Avenue.

In both cases I managed to upload the wrong photos at the first attempt. Apologies.

http://www.fixmystreet.com/report/159324#update_165739

Vandome Cycling

2011-06-07T20:05:00.001+01:00

I saw an ad in B&D Council's The News for Vandome Cycling, only to find from the website that it is owned by B&D LCC member Russell Coe, of Dagenham. Vandome is offering repairs and maintenance (including contracts), and maintenance classes, National Standards Training, led rides, bikes and spares for sale and fitness development.

We wish him all the best with that, I'm sure.

RailPlanner

2011-06-06T00:06:00.001+01:00

Train fares oracle Barry Doe recommends RailPlanner for planning rail journeys and mining your way through the Byzantine complexity of rail fares in the UK. He says current online journey planners show up journeys starting later at A, with changes at B, C and D, to arrive at E at the same time as you would have done if you'd just turned up a bit earlier at A. I can't say my testing using East Coast bears this out, though. Barry's example in Rail Magazine (issue 671) involved catching the 1208 from Bradford on Sunday 15 May and arriving in London at 1522, with no changes, rather than catching the 1225 and changing twice to arrive in London at the same time. You might want to save the 17 minutes and pay by changing twice, but Barry's point is that with online planners - I don't know which - the direct and slightly slower train is hard to find. I tested with Sunday 12 June and the engine found direct trains, and the interface allowed me easily to filter out trains with changes.

Now it's hard to find anyone who thinks that our train ticket system is clear and legible. There are situations where you can save money by buying separate tickets from A to B, B to C and C to D, instead of a ticket from A to D, and end up on the same train(s) youb would have by buying the through ticket. Plainly a nonsensical situation.

Barry says that offline RailPlanner gives some useful options for planning/ticketing that aren't available with online planners, but it is available in a browser accessible version and is presumably essentially the same on either platform. Barry recommends the 'silver' version, which costs £59.40 pa at the offer price he has negotiated. Presumably for some people, this would pay for itself by a combination of cheaper fares, simpler journeys, and reduced journey times.

So, here we have a relatively cheap software solution to the problem of train fare / journey planning complexity. Why not just piut it on the www let everyone use it for free? They could use it direct themselves, or via an agent at a ticket office or travel agent. Software should be able to find the best fares and journeys (not necessarily the quickest and cheapest) and the rail system would have a dataset of actual journeys/tickets to inform its planning. So the software would mine the information and save the trouble and cost/confusion of simplifying fares.

To take up Barry's offer you need to quote RAILoffer when ordering, which you can do by phone or using the pdf downloadable form - post or fax! See http://www.travelinfosystems.com/

Barry Mason, RIP

2011-06-05T15:57:00.003+01:00

With great sadness I am passing on the news that Barry Mason has died in Spain where he was on a cycling holiday. He will be a great loss to cycling and our sympathy is with those who knew and loved him.

http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/5328
http://asitc.wordpress.com/2011/06/04/barry-mason/
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/06/05/british-holiday-maker-dies-after-going-for-a-dip-in-spain-115875-23180076/

There is a tribute to Barry on the LCC website to accompany the growing number on e-mail groups and blogs:

http://lcc.org.uk/articles/barry-mason

Afternoon tea rides?

2011-05-28T17:48:00.002+01:00

I am repeating a post from over two years ago (gulp). I haven't re-checked the info, but I have added some new details from comments received.

The following Essex country churches are known to serve tea and cakes on summer Sunday afternoons:

Blackmore, St Laurence. 2 or possibly 2.30-4.30pm (first Sunday of months of May - October). Very popular with cyclists.
High Beech, Holy Innocents. 2-5pm, every Sunday May - September). Allegedly 20 types of cake (source of this info not recorded, but I feel certain there should be a disclaimer here somewhere!)
Stanford Rivers, St Margaret. 2 - 4.30 some say, but the church's website says 2.30-4.30. Tea also available by arrangement.
All Saints Doddinghurst - I'm told by Andrew Smith that they serve tea and cake, and to check their website, but I can't find anything there and the site isn't being updated.

Anyone planning to lead a bike ride might like to cut their teeth with an afternoon trip to one of these.

Another stolen bike website

2011-05-28T17:34:00.000+01:00

http://www.bikerevolution.org/

Is a stolen bike website that I've just come across. I'm not sure of the merits of there being several such sites. I found the link on http://www.goinggoingbike.com/ a bike auction site with devices to prevent stolen bikes being sold on it.

This is all well and good, but if someone steals your bike the chances are they will sell it on for such a good price that the buyer will "ask no questions"

Tyre sizes available in Wilkinson's, Barking

2011-05-28T16:11:00.001+01:00

Wilkinson's is quite useful in a town with no bike shop, except out of town Halfords, but I've always been puzzled by the selection of tyre sizes. Here is what was available in their Barking branch today. I'm only quoting ISO sizes, formerly known as ETRTO sizes. Although unfamiliar to any, they are the only ones that are reliable. The British, European and US sizes can seem similar whilst being very different.This guide converts between the different standards.

ISO uses width in mm, dash, bead circumference in mm. Obviously the latter is critical. The former doesn't make that much difference, especially with a few mm of course

Wilkinson's had 47-406, 47-507, 47-559, 37-622 and 32-630 sizes. I believe the most popular size in the world is 37-590, which British (Empire) people know as 26 x 1 3/8. 37-622 is a common size amongs my LCC friends.

I once encoutered someone who had his Brompton folding bike stolen shortly after he bought some new tyres for it. Brompton tyres are 37-349 typically, commonly called 16 x 1 3/8. Unfortunately he had bought 16" USA sized tyres, of a mere 305mm diameter (probably 47-305), almost an inch and three quarters too small in diameter.

Temporary closure of Station Parade (eastbound) - more

2011-05-23T21:36:00.000+01:00

http://stibasa.blogspot.com/2011/05/temporary-closure-of-station-parade.html

Further to my previous post, I discovered this via B&D council's new Facebook Page:

http://www.lbbd.gov.uk/News/PressReleases/Pages/BarkingStationWorks.aspx

I note "new cycle parking".

Victoria Road

2011-05-22T23:40:00.000+01:00

Following my previous post, I had a quick nose down Victoria Road today. The signs are already installed, albeit covered. At the junction with Loxford Road there are "no entry" signs facing west - apart from tne fact that they are round, one of them is not completely covered.

Nearer Ilford Lane, facing east, are what I assume are one way traffic signs - rectangular. These are covered, but fit with the public notice and correspond with the 'no entry' signs further west.

I apologise that my impact on B&D council in twenty years of campaigning is such that they will still propose and even implement schemes such with no reference to cycling at all. This one is a minor scheme (but many are) and it won't cause major problems, but the feeling is of a death of a thousand cuts. Are we, little by little, progressing, or is it the opposite? Hard campaigning can lead, here and there, to things being restored to how they were before cycling was unfairly and pointlessly restricted, but restrictions themselves continue to increase. B&D council tried their luck with Axe St - t doesn't seem to have happened (a campaigning success), but it requires much vigilance and perseverance to hold back the powerful if not fast flow of anti-cycling measures that this council still manages to propose or even implement, despite the claim that they are prp cycling. It is not enough to just say/write that you are pro cycling, B&D council. You have to live this out, and stamp out the pernicious if ignorant attempts to restrict cycling

A new name for LCC?

2011-05-20T18:54:00.001+01:00

Please have a look at the attached documents, one of which is from the latest London Cyclist magazine, and let ME know your views. The Word document guides you in this, but I think the key point is what name for the organisation would appeal most/best to non-members and even people who don’t cycle. Making everything nice for current members is not what we should be about. *

I have studiously avoided using the word ‘cyclist’ where possible in campaigning, based on the idea that I was convinced of that it conjours up a certain image in (some) people’s minds that may not be entirely positive to them. Cycling does not have this connotation. It is true, though, that cycling is an activity, whereas cyclists are people (yes they are!) and it is better to refer to people than an activity. The approved term was “people who cycle”.

Then there’s the word ‘campaign’, which at once makes specific what it is that we’re about, but also (it is said) sounds off putting.

Lastly of my points is that many LCC branches are called [name of borough] cyclists. There’s a name for the logical fallacy that if lots of people do it it must be right.

Anyway, please think about this and let me know, preferably by e-mail.

* My aim is to get more people cycling more often. For me LCC is an organisation that helps in this aim both directly and by supporting me as a campaigner. Therefore the LCC is worth supporting, but to the end of increasing cycling, not growing the LCC per se, though the more members we have, the more clout we have as we represent a larger constituency.

Temporary closure of Station Parade (eastbound)

2011-05-14T16:45:00.000+01:00

http://www.lbbd.gov.uk/thenews/Documents/thenews-49.pdf

A notice in "The News" (B&D council newspaper) says that from 2 June Station Parad Barking will be closed eastbound between Wakering Road and Cambridge Road - ie in front of Barking Station. The order has force for 9 weeks, but they usually err on the cautious side.

Pedestrians will not be able to use the northern footway.

B&D council still trying to restrict cycling?

2011-05-14T16:39:00.000+01:00

B&D council nearly caught me sleeping. They have threatened to introduce one way working in Victoria Road, the last road in B&D off Ilford Lane before the LB Redbridge boundary. I could practically write the e-mail to Darren Henagan with my eyes shut. I have written so many, but B&D still don't seem to be able to apply their pro-cycling policy to their efforts in traffic management.

My letter in "The News" - 'Pay as you drive' will boost cycling

2011-05-14T08:50:00.000+01:00

This letter from me was published in a recent edition of B&D Council's newspaper, The News:

Well , another writer on cycling ("Please spend cycle investment wisely", thenews, 2 April). I'll be out of a job - voluntary, by the way!

I don't want to disparage someone who wants to encourage cycling, but I do think I should point out some of the pitfalls of Mrs Green's suggestions. Cycle tracks on pavements arguably need to be clear of opening car

doors to avoid collisions. And for every person who argues cycling should be on the pavement, there's

someone else saying it should be on the road.

I think the idea of banning car parking in cycle lanes is rather optimistic. There's the enforcement issue - have

a look at the cycle track in Pickering Road, Barking. It's constantly full of parked cars.

Mrs Green's letter strikes right at the heart of why Barking and Dagenham is really a driving borough.

Government policy encourages us to buy cars, and cars have high fixed costs. There, parked outside your

home, is your lovely warm and comfortable car, with a full tank of petrol and much of your hard-earned cash

already committed to it. So you use it - of course you do. Yet most cars spend most of their time parked, unused, wasted.

I think that if you don't use your car, you shouldn't have to pay. An easy way of doing this would be to shift all the costs of driving onto the pump price of fuel, rather than vehicle excise duty (not 'road tax', which doesn't exist), VAT on cars and insurance - all costs you pay whether or not you use your car.

The "pay as you drive" way of doing things model would encourage economical driving and economical

cars. Some people might even give up their car and just hire one when they need it. The changes I suggest would boost local shops and amenities, as the cost of the drive to a out-of-town supermarket would make it much less attractive. In rural areas, the village shop and pub would spring back to life. And with fewer parked cars, there'd be more room for cycling and public transport, and more cycling, as the cost would be attractive compared to driving. More buses and trains, and lower fares, too - wonderful virtuous circles.

Colin Newman

Leader, London Cycling Campaign

Barking and Dagenham branch

At last the rival London Connections Maps are to merge!

2011-05-07T21:10:00.000+01:00

For a long time, TfL and AYOC each produced maps called London Connections Maps, showing both National Rail and LUL lines. Foillowing my suggestion several years ago, ATOC's introduced the colour codes for Underground Lines, so with colur coding for each TOC, it makes a good document. TfL's LC map used to show all the National Rail lines in one colour / without colour, until Oyster PAYG spread to National Rail, whereupon it changed the LC Map to the Oyster Map, and colour coded the National rail lines according to the London Terminus, or pair of termini. This avoided the irritating and changing names of the TOCs, but makes the maps very similar in content.

According to Modern Railways magazine (April 2011) ATOC and TfL have devised one map between them. At last and end to the wasteful duplication.

Bank cards insttead of Oyster Cards. Oyster outside London

2011-05-07T21:03:00.000+01:00

"TfL an train companies are also to work to complet plans to extend Oyster PAYG outside London, and to evaluate the extension to National Rail services of payment using contactless bank cards, for introduction in 2012. TfL has confirmed that, by the end of 2012, card readers across its whole network will have been upgraded so that a contactless bank card can be used ... for PAYG travel." [Modern Railways April 2011]

Goodbye Oyster Extension Permits

2011-05-07T20:59:00.000+01:00

"From 22 May, passengers using a London Oyster Travelcard who want to travel outside their travelcard zones will no longer be required to load an Oyster Extension Permit onto the Oyster Card. The permits were intended to indicate an intention to to extend travel using Oyster pay as you go (PAYG) credit. Although free of charge, the permits ... caused widespread confusion." [Modern Railways, April 2011]

Where have all the bottle banks gone?

2011-04-13T18:44:00.000+01:00

The all the recycling banks (including the bottle banks) near where I live, and all the recycling banks except the clothes bank) on my route to/from the station have been removed. I live in a flat, so don't have a blue box, so what do I do with glass for recycling?

As a cyclist, I often pick up bottles from the street - it's better than punctures - but now what do I do with them?

Linton Road anti cycling; pedestrian route signs

2011-04-09T13:13:00.000+01:00

I've done lots of campaigning about cycling in Barking town centre. I cringe when I see Linton Road, with such an obvious example of where cycling has been unnecessarily restricted. (See photo). Also dotted around the town are pedestrian signs with timings to destinations. I've nothing against them as such, but why has cycling been overlooked again? In the cluster shown in the photo, only "The City" is given as a cycle destination. Why wouldn't people be cycling to Greatfields Park, or Thames View?

The potholes of Barking

2011-04-09T13:06:00.000+01:00

I thought I'd revisit some potholes to see - don't laugh - whether the council had done anything about them. See for yourself!

The Road to ... somewhere!

2011-04-09T12:25:00.002+01:00

After all these years, at last we can get from The Town Quay to Jenkins Lane without crossing the A406 twice. Yes - the road to nowhere is no longer the road to nowhere! Next job is to get going again campaigning to have the "No entry except buses" signs removed or modified. Those going to the new Police Custody Centre there by car must be breaking the law each time they do. Must also find out what the road is called ...

Institute of Advanced Motorists Cycle Helmet Poll

2011-03-19T10:09:00.000Z

http://www.iam.org.uk/iam_polls/

Poll closes on 17 April. There is a reasonable range of questions, and not too many, and the chance to comment as free text. This is your chance to plug road danger reduction and point out that the benefits of helmets accrue to pedestrians and car occupants just as much as cyclists.

I am definitely against cycle helmet compulsion, and a cycle helmet sceptic in that I haven't been convinced that the benefits / advantages of cycle helmets outweigh the disbenefits / disadvantages, but this does not mean that helmets don't have benefits. If they do have benefits, and if compulsion will help realise them, then why should pedestrians and car occupants not be compelled to wear them too?

Fantastic new off road car parking facility

2011-03-01T20:10:00.001Z

As you can see in this photo, drivers have decided that it is perfectly OK to block the cycle track (signed as a safe route to school) and half the footway in Pickering Road, Barking. There is apparently no enforcement. When and if it starts I suppose there will be loud complaints along the lines of "we parked there before and got away with it. How come you've given us a ticket now?"

I cut my cycle campaigning teeth teeth campaigning about this area when I lived there. When the new estate was designed they ignored cycling (surprise!) and it was only campaigning that achieved this ill thought out cycle track. I had to read nonsensical arguments based on incorrect information about the traffic schemes that previously existed. I campaigned for the new flats and houses to have cycle storage, but I see bikes in front gardens chained to the railings, so I take it they haven't, and of course people move in without a thought for where they can park their car, hence this blatant illegal parking.

Car park

2011-03-01T20:07:00.000Z

Be an even more green cyclist

2011-02-14T16:11:00.000Z

Principled entrepreneur Simon Nash has set up Green Oil to sell plant based lubrication and cleaning products for bikes. They don't use petrochemicals and they don't sell to the automotive industry, though they could make a lot of money from doing so. The factory is in Wales, and the containers are recyclable, or can be refilled with the same product.

Bikewise Havering: volunteers needed

2011-02-14T13:00:00.000Z

Havering LCC will have a stall at LB Havering’s Bikewise event on 6 March. The stall will be open from 10am - 4pm and volunteers are needed to staff it.

Please email Gerhard@lcc.co.uk, if you can help, saying what times you can do.

Gold card discounts now apply to Underground only Oyster PAYG, and Gold Cards go electronic

2011-02-13T18:58:00.000Z

According to fares supremo Barry Doe (widely respected, but still a secondary source) annual season ticket holders whose ticket is valid for a station n the London and South East network area can have their Gold Card (which is included in the annual's price) coded onto their Oyster card, so avoiding the inconvenience of carrying round a piece of cardboard and remembering to claim the discount for the Gold Card.

Additionally, the discount of 34% is now extended to Underground only Oyster PAYG fares (similar ts and cs doubtlessly apply). The cheapest annual season ticket used to be Ryde St Johns Road to Ryde Esplanade on the Isle of Wight. It is currently £140 pa and might not take that long to pay for itself.

Cavalier abuse of cycle track

2011-01-16T20:19:00.000Z

The cycle track in Pickering Road was in general use as a car park today.Image to follow when I work out why the server is rejecting it.

More Rs

2011-01-15T17:09:00.000Z

There used to be three - Reduce, re-use, recycle. Then 'repair' was added. Now, according to Rachel Botsman of Collaborative Consumption (author of What's mine is yours) we should add 'redistribute' as redistribution markets such as e-bay and Swap Tree lead us back to collaborative lifestyles.

ELT wins an award

2010-12-24T19:07:00.000Z

The East London Transit is widely mocked for its name and the insistence that it's not a bus, even though it stops at bus stops, charges bus fares, is shown as a bus on maps and in journey planners as a bus, runs over the route of a bus that hasn't run since it was introduced, and - above all - uses the same vehicles as a bus. Writing "transit" on the side of a bus doesn't stop it being a bus, writing "Rolls Royce" on a Datsun Cherry would achieve the same - nothing except a laugh.

It was going to be a tram, and at one point monorail plans were if not drawn up, given the artist's impression treatment.

Anyway, to crown it all it's now won an award, partly because it serves Barking Town Centre, from where buses were excluded in the early 1990s.

So that's divert buses away from a town centre and 15 or so years later undo your work, but calling a spade a material extraction device, and get an award for it. Hmm.

Parking charges will stop people using their cars! D'Uh.

2010-12-22T20:14:00.000Z

In today's Evening Standard (London) there's an article about councils putting up charges for parking to help meet the shortfall in revenue that the current swingeing cuts will cause. One vox pop contributor says: "driving costs more and more, and it'll put most of us off doing it." It isn't really clear whether she thinks this is a bad thing, though the general tenor of the article is anti, but yes, if you put the price of something up, usage will typically fall - it's called elasticity. If car use falls, car ownership will fall too, public transport ridership will tend to increase and so will cycling. This will ease the environmental problems caused by cars, as well as meaning they'll take up less space between them. Basic.

What we want from our transport and communication system(s) is the reduction of the problem of people not being near the resource they need to access. People should have a big fat broadband pipe in their home, with an easy to use terminal connected to it. Amongst the services they should be able to easily access from this is the use of an appropriate vehicle to move things and people to a certain place by a certain time. More private cars is not the solution.

Countdown out - part 2

2010-12-21T00:09:00.000Z

My useless bus information post reminded me of my adventures earlier in the month, trying to get to the National Theatre. Here is the text of my complaint:

"From:
Sent: 12 December 2010 20:42
To: 'enquire@tfl.gov.uk'
Subject: Jubilee Line Sunday 12/10/10

I’m writing to complain about the train information at West Ham (Jubilee line platform) today. I arrived there at about 1.30pm, and for the next 15-20 minutes the display was showing that a train would arrive in 3 minutes, the 2, then 3 again, then 2, and so on. I understand that you had problems with the trains – that’s not what I am complaining about. If you had advised us to use another route that would have been fair enough, but instead you caused us all to wait there in the belief that there was a train coming shortly.

Surely your information systems on this new line can actually tell us with a reasonable degree of accuracy when a train is actually coming?

Countdown out

2010-12-21T00:05:00.000Z

Because of the recent bad weather, I have been catching the bus home from Barking station more often recently. A few weeks ago I noticed that 'countdown' displays had been installed - not new hardware, but that's not the point. On the last two occasions the display was giving out the useless information that it had no information about buses. Hmm. Tonight, I noticed that some standard transport tortured prose was in use: Words to the effect of "full information is not available."

More to the point, no information was available, whether full, partial or sketchy. I'm sure that the bad weather is causing problems, but if they don't know when the bus is coming, can't they just say so?

Tannoy oy oy oy oy

2010-12-20T19:04:00.000Z

I can remember the days when there was no train information on many barking & Gospel Oak line platforms. I can also remember having an argument with Silverlink a few years back, over whether there were any speakers installed at Harringay Green Lanes. After flatly contradicting me (a daily user of the station), they finally said they had been delivered to the site. Fat lot of good if they're not up-and-running.

Well now we have an embarasse de richesse at HGL, with two speakers systems up and running, producing a nice out-of-synch duet between the voices as they announce differently worded versions of the same information. Maybe I could forgive a few days overlap of the systems (better to have double announcements than none), but this silliness has been going on for weeks now.

Gospel Joke Line

2010-12-20T18:57:00.001Z

Wooden spoon to TfL for introducing a temporary timetable (not corresponding to the new National Rail Timetable) for this week, and another one for next week, without bothering to tell anyone, even on TfL's Overground we page, and then the new one the week after that. Thanks to the ever vigilant Barking and Gospel Oak Line Users Group for publishing links to them on their website http://www.barking-gospeloak.org.uk/

Hi tech minicab company - "changing minicab booking forever"

2010-12-17T21:42:00.000Z

http://www.minicabcompany.com/

This is the website of the minicab company that is using the hi tech solution I have been referring to: I have relented and posted this on the ground that if people use thisand it is good, it will encourage others and therefore lead to a more efficient overall minicab system.

You can book by phone (voice call), SMS, and on the web.

Minicabs and tech

2010-12-17T16:55:00.000Z

http://www.iamdespatch.com

Looking around for the software that is behind the web based taxi firm mentioned in my last posting, I came across this company, offering a package based on smart phones in vehicles and a cloud computing based system for clients (passengers) and operators. A well thought out system.

Minicabs

2010-12-17T16:13:00.001Z

I've been updating my records of minicab firms and I list below ones that have IG11 postcodes. I have not checked the information, neither can I personally vouch for / recommend any of them.

I got some of this information from several on line directories, all doing the same thing, but rivals to each other and presumably holding the information separately. None of them had all the information shown here. That's a bad start.

Then we have to consider that for the 10 companies (or company names - some seem to share a postal address) show below there are 17 phone numbers. This isn't competition, it's just poor overall service caused by confusion and poor information. Many other companies show when you search on line for cab companies in Barking / IG11, because they all want you to book with them, of course. One company (not listed) even has multiple web addresses, with different place names in, and claims to have the biggest fleet of minicabs in Barking, or whatever area you have typed in! If they are a portal for other minicab firms, then perhaps this claim is supportable on that ground, if it is not true in the strict sense.

I wrote over a year ago (http://stibasa.blogspot.com/2009/12/transport-software.html) about software (Mentor Intellifleet) that intelligently manages taxi fleets logistically. (This is not an advert - other suitable software may be available). Surely there is a need to reduce the number of phone numbers for taxi firms (more customer friendly) for starters, and them to arrange dispatch of a suitable vehicle that is near the pick-up and available in time to complete the journey by the target destination arrival time, or pick up the traveller soonest for asap dynamic bookings. I am not saying that scaling up operations like this is easy, but it's possibly something TfL could have a go at.Cabwise seems to be a start - http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/gettingaround/taxisandminicabs/taxis/default.aspx

TAXI/MINICAB FIRMS IN IG11

A-to-B Minicabs           020 8594 5536, 020 8594 9290
Best Way Cars                020 8594 8844, 020 8507 3303, 020 8593 4414
Essex Minicabs              020 8591 9000
Gateway Cars                  020 8591 7000, 020 8591 4444
Hawk Cars                      020 3371 1551
I'M Cars Ltd                    020 8594 4996
Ripple Cars                      020 8594 2553, 020 8594 2045
S.A.M Cars                     020 8594 9394, 020 8594 9395
Thatched House Car Hire 020 8594 4444, 020 8591 2721
Westbury Cars                 020 8594 2045

New cycling magazine - ish

2010-12-06T20:32:00.000Z

http://www.cyclelifestyle.co.uk/

This new magazine available on-line and on paper seems to aim itself at a readership new to cycling - those who have taken it up since it became "fashionable" in recent years. I'm not scoffing at it - just trying to describe my first impressions of it, from a quick skim. Issue 4 is out already. The earlier issues seem to be available as a pdf but not in the format that emulates a paper magazine on screen.

Havering College - Cycle Maintenance Apprenticeship

2010-12-04T11:40:00.001Z

http://www.havering-college.ac.uk/college-calendar-dates/college-news/news.aspx?p=109625

Havering college has launched a cycle maintenance apprenticeship. I have edited this post thanks to a comment from the college - thanks - that an apprentice can be any age, though the government subsidy decreases with age.

Passenger focussed train announcements

2010-12-03T20:15:00.000Z

When my train was cancelled one morning this week, I had some twenty minutes in Barking station. c2c trains were badly affected by the bad weather and were pretty much all running late. The computerised announcer was steadfastly announcing the problem like this:

"We're sorry that the 0853 train to Fenchurch Street is delayed by approximately 17 minutes. c2c apologises for this delay and the inconvenience it may cause you." Announcements like this were practically back to back - trains are frequent at that time in the morning and one train was running 25 miniutes late. If this was announced every 2 minutes we would have heard the announcement a dozen times.

Every so often, the human announcer would override the computerised voice and give people the information they actually wanted where the next train to Fenchurch Street (and to West Ham and Limehouse) was platformed.

This is not some Luddite claim that humans are better at announcing trains than computers - it is about the relevance of the information. What people want to know is when the next train to their destination will arrive and on what platform, not how late it is, or what the driver wants for Christmas.

This may not apply to those travelling away from London, as several destinations are served and delay information may well help people, but for those going into London, the auto information was useless and its presentation irritating. It would have been better to turn it off.

Double our voice

2010-12-03T20:01:00.000Z

You may have seen the articles about this campaign in London Cyclist or on the London Cycling Campaign website.

Although cycling has enjoyed something of a renaissance in recent years, there is still much campaigning to be done, and membership groups like LCC and CTC can be a powerful voice for cyclists, both directly, and in the support they offer to local campaigners. They also of course offer membership benefits, such as free insurance.

So, in your travels, so try to recruit new members for these groups. If the B&D LCC branch were to grow, perhaps we could become more viable, and do more things to encourage cycling / attract new members

Safer Cycling in Barking and Dagenham - A new initiative encourages cyclist-awareness amongst freight drivers

2010-11-14T19:59:00.001Z

A Council officer writes:

"Following our recent recognition by Transport for London as an Outer London Biking Borough, the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham remains committed to promoting and encouraging cycling. We’re continuing to improve and integrate our comprehensive cycle networks, develop the greenway network through our parks and open spaces, and provide free cycle training for all residents and workers. We’re also engaged in a range of ongoing promotional and awareness campaigns.

With the launch of the new Cycle Superhighway Route 3, which links Barking with Central London, raising awareness of the increasing number of cyclists using our network has become a key priority. In conjunction with Transport for London, M2 Training has been commissioned to run a Driver Certificate of Professional Competence (Driver CPC) module called “Safer London Driving”, tailored for the freight drivers operating in and around London.

The training module is designed to help equip vocational drivers with the knowledge, skill, motivation and confidence to operate safely on London’s roads. As well as highlighting the vulnerability of other road users, it explains how London’s streetscape is evolving to encourage more active travel and facilitate the ever-increasing cycling journeys within the capital and beyond.

The course aims to make freight drivers and operators aware of London’s changing streetscape and the need to be able to identify road users who are vulnerable and why. It will highlight drivers’ responsibilities with an emphasis on professionalism; promote tools, techniques and technology that can improve road safety; and review driver attitudes through reflection and discussion, to improve personal driving practises.

In early autumn, Barking and Dagenham rolled out a pilot course to local borough businesses, which was very well attended and benefitted from positive feedback. Subsequent to these events, funding has been secured to roll out 18 courses for local borough-based haulage companies, providing training for 360 freight drivers, helping them develop the knowledge, awareness and skills to adapt to the changing nature of the capital’s roads.

If you are a local business based within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and feel you would benefit from this free training, please contact Lee Thornton at Lee.Thornton@lbbd.gov.uk or telephone 020 8227 3352. Please note places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis."

Oyster Extension Permit

2010-11-10T20:47:00.000Z

Inquisitive, I added one to my Oystercard at Barking Station (using a machine of course). It showed up on my account as "PAYG enabled" or similar, with "Bus" (which puzzled me as I hadn't been on one. Some time later, I noticed I was being charged £4.20 entry each morning and evening at Barking. I never bother swiping at S Tottenham or Harringay Green Lanes as I have a zones 3 & 4 annual travelcard loaded onto the Oystercard. I resumed swiping. The first time the system deducted £4.20 at Barking and credited £4.20 at S Tottenham, and then the problem was fixed.

So that's how an OEP works.

Police on bikes

2010-10-31T09:14:00.000Z

I've commented before on how times have changed. Again a local firm (or branch) has donated bicycles to the police, this time in Abbey Ward, saying "We believe these bikes will be positive for the community".

It doesn't seem that long ago when bicycle based policing would have been seen as absurd, and parodied as a nostalgic hark-back to "bobbies on bicycles".

Heaven for petrol heads

2010-10-31T09:10:00.000Z

Not a headline to gladden the hard of a sustainability campaigner, but Motorways' advert in the council newspaper The News features a photo with bicycles outside, and mentions being "expert when it comes to ... bicycles" in the text. They are in Church Street Dagenham. Tel: 020 8592 0294

Boris Bikes

2010-10-30T18:14:00.000+01:00

I've just signed up for the Boris Bikes. I had to pay £3 for the key and £1 up front for an access period of 24 hours. That period doesn't start till I use the key, and it will auto renew once it expires (ie 24 hours after I use the key).

Doesn't seem too bad given that I'm unlikely to use it enough to warrant annual membership.

The Road to nowhere

2010-10-30T17:34:00.000+01:00

The "new" road from Freshwharf Road to Jenkins Lane is still blocked off by gates near Jenkins Lane, a heap of bricks at the southern gate and concrete girders at the junction with Jenkins Lane. I just found in my records an e-mail from 2004 when I complained about the no-entry except buses signs that they managed to erect before even completing the road. They're still there.

Cyclists not welcome at Abbey Retail Park

2010-10-30T17:30:00.000+01:00

I noticed this some time ago and suspect it has been like it for a long time. The Abbey Road emtrance to the estate has been segregated - HGVs in one lane and "Cars only" in the other. Charming.

Helsinki cycling study

2010-10-30T17:21:00.000+01:00

http://www.bikexprt.com/research/pasanen/index.htm

The author comes down in favour of helmet compulsion where there is a low cycling rate anyway, and against the (segregated) cycle tracks that are a feature of many continental cities and often held up as best practice.

He says that cyclists are better off in mixed traffic than on (segregated) tracks.

LCC wants space for cycling

2010-10-30T09:21:00.000+01:00

This is likely to be the tag line for London Cycling Campaign's headline campaign for the 2012 Mayor & GLA elections. It is suitably broad to allow for the spectrum of views within LCC as to what to do on the ground to encourage and facilitate cycling, without opting for any one type of solution.

www.lcc.org.uk

3 feet please

2010-10-30T09:02:00.000+01:00

David Love, progenitor of London's Freewheel event (Skyride) has started a new campaign to persuade motorists to leave three feet between their car and cyclists. The idea has provoked debate in cycle campaigning e-mail discussion groups, but it does try to deal with the rather subjective guidance in the Highway Code - leave at least as much space as you would for a car.

http://3feetplease.org.uk

Commuter cycling and sickness absence

2010-10-22T18:58:00.000+01:00

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20580736

Conclusion: "Cycling to work is associated with less sickness absence. The more often people cycle to work and the longer the distance travelled, the less they report sick"

The Health benefits of cycling outweigh the risks

2010-10-22T18:55:00.000+01:00

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20587380

Says (according to CTC's CycleDigest) that the health benefits of cycling are on average nine times greater than the risks associated with driving a car.

Bye bye Class 150

2010-10-15T20:27:00.000+01:00

The class 150 trains on the Barking & Gospel Oak line, introduced in 1999, have bowed out gracefully in favour of the shiny new class 172s. The last 150 I saw was on Wednesday, I think.

Video production workshop Sat 16 Oct

2010-10-09T11:59:00.000+01:00

Video workshop (Sat 16 Oct, 10-1pm)

Capture – Edit – Deliver: three simple steps to your campaigning video. There are still spaces available. To book go here http://lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=1722.

LCC needs new office manager

2010-10-09T11:55:00.000+01:00

The London Cycling Campaign is recruiting an office manager. Salary c £25K, closing date 20 October.

http://www.lcc.org.uk/index.asp?PageID=2094

Ask for Cycle Parking

2010-10-09T11:53:00.000+01:00

There's now an interactive website you can use to pin point on a zoomable map where you think there should be cycle parking. The site has been created for the London Cycling Campaign. Please note that the map doesn't show where there is cycle parking.

http://www.cycleparking4london.org.uk/

Abuse of cycle lanes, ASLs, etc

2010-10-09T11:50:00.000+01:00

There's now a website where you can upload photos of motorists parking / stopping in or otherwise obstructing cycle lanes/tracks, advanced stop lines, etc. The perpetrators shown this far include not only "white van man" and taxi drivers, but the police.

http://london.mybikelane.com/

Barking Station Ticket Machine Oyster Compatability

2010-09-22T19:27:00.000+01:00

At least one of the ticket machines at Barking Station can now handle Oyster products - I used one of the newer, taller machines and managed to load an Oyster Extension Permit onto my card.

Cycle Super Highway under construction in June

2010-08-05T16:09:00.000+01:00

I say "under construction", but the vast majority of the work - and all the work I saw between Barking & Bow Creek - was putting on the blue coating.

A few photos here:

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/cardinal1962/CSH_26_Jun_10#

Outrageous Illegal Parking

2010-07-31T21:54:00.000+01:00

Here we see again the arrogance of parking on a cycle track. This is in Pickering Road, Barking. The track is even demarcated by bollards with the "safe routes to school" logo. The pictures were taken at about 9.45am and 12.40pm.

New train on Barking & Gospel Oak Line - my first ride

2010-07-21T19:05:00.000+01:00

On the 1800 service from Harringay Green Lanes to Barking. The air-conditioning is a delight and the ride is very quiet, though not as quiet as an electric train and a bit noisier at stations when the doors are open.

As we knew from the world of cycle campaigning there is no dedicated cycle accommodation - and Bromptoneers who use Barking and/or Gospel Oak Station will have to find a new place/angle to stash their machines as the vestibule layout is so different. At the moment there are no maps or line diagrams, but I'm sure that will be remedied soon. There are no tube style dangly things to hold onto.

A couple of minor details niggle - they're probably of no consequence, but why not get them right - and more to the point how do they get them wrong. They concern the on train station name announcements. Walthamstow, with a soft 'th' as in 'them' rather than a hard 'th' as in 'theme' (I'll let them off the authentic 'Wharf-em stow'). And "One stead" Park, whereas the 'Wan' is always pronounced to rhyme with 'John'

Foodcycle

2010-07-20T20:30:00.000+01:00

http://www.foodcycle.org.uk/

"FoodCycle combines young volunteers, surplus food and a free kitchen space to create nutritious meals and positive social change in the community!

The idea is simple. Food retailers throw out millions of tons of edible food every year due to supply overstock. The aim of FoodCycle is to redirect this food so it can be used to cook nutritious meals for people in the local community that do not have access to healthy foods for a variety of reasons, such as lack of income or knowledge of healthy nutrition.

The result? Personal health and well-being increase with proper nutrition, food waste is reduced, and young volunteers create positive change in their communities!

And for those who like numbers this means we have reclaimed 3,000 kg of food, served 6,000 three-course meals clocking over 3,000 volunteer hours!"

New train on Barking & Gospel Oak Line

2010-07-20T19:26:00.000+01:00

What I presume to be the first new class 172 "Turbostar" train for the line has arrived - I saw it Gospel Oak bound at 17:45 today at Harringay Green Lanes. I'm looking forward to my first ride on one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Rail_Class_172

2010-07-18T18:52:00.000+01:00

http://stibasa.blogspot.com/2007/05/biceberg-underground-automated-cycle.html

I've just noticed a comment on my post about the biceberg secure underground cycle park which refers to the almost unfortunately named b-igloo.

"an automatic, intelligent system of storage, parking and management, which receives and returns the bicycle at street level in less than 10 seconds and which also allows storage of items necessary for the use of the bicycle such as a rucksack, safety helmet, reflective elements, etc.

b-igloo is the fastest and safest system on the market for the safekeeping of bicycles, introducing an added advantage, the locker space, which allows the safe storage of the rest of the items transported, or “à la carte” personalisation of rented bicycles.

Its user-friendly, functional street furniture offers the possibility of installing different public services such as interactive information, automatic vending and advertising or additional facilities (repair and servicing of the bicycle).

Parking and retrieving bicycles is carried out via b-igloo parking cards that contain a chip, which stores user information, authorisations and restrictions.

The system facilitates all the management, customer service and attention to incidents tasks, guaranteeing perfect maintenance conditions and making b-igloo the best system for the application of parking and/or bicycle rental networks and, therefore, the best system to provide individual, sustainable, ecological transport."

http://www.bigloo.es/

2010-07-18T18:40:00.000+01:00

http://treecar.co.uk/

"At Treecar we plant a tree for every car you hire - you pay nothing extra! This is the most environmentally friendly car site on the internet, but we believe you shouldn’t have to pay more for the privilege. You can help the environment without damaging your pocket.

Treecar is available for all destinations throughout the world. No matter where you hire a car from, irrespective of the duration, one tree will get planted. Treecar is your worldwide, friendly, car hire company."

Travelling light

2010-07-18T18:25:00.000+01:00

Cycle (CTC's magazine) carried an interesting article on this subject in its August/September 2008 edition. Some of the ideas are way over the top, but amusing nevertheless. Others are good ideas or thought-provoking. I list a selection here,and there's also a website at http://www2.arnes.si/~ikovse/weight.htm

A 20 litre saddlebag should be enough for any accommodated tour. Carradice recommended.
Use a handlebar bag for camera and valuables
Two small bags are less efficient than one large (but keep loads balanced)
To travel light you have to do laundry often (though there won't be much!)
Some hotels will wash and dry clothes for you overnight - £!
Strip and "tread the grapes" in the shower - ie wash your clothes with yourself in the shower. You'll need a block of strong soap. Use the hand towel to dry yourself.
Lay wet clothes on the bath towel and roll it up long ways. Put a foot on one end and twist hard
Only take clothes that can be worn in >1 situation.
Shorts with zip on legs are most versatile.
Cycling tops must pass as casual shirts.
Cycling shoes must be good for walking (cleats recessed). Exustar Stelvio recommended.
Clothes are one sytem. Layering is the watchword.
Take arm warmers and knee warmers.
Bad weather clothing (worn): Thermal vest, short sleeved shirt, arm warmers, fleece, rain jacket, waterproof hat; Lycra shorts, knee warmers, shorts with legs zipped on (to make longs), rainlegs, waterproof socks, shoes, shoe covers.
Bad weather clothing (spare, carried): Short sleeved top, lycra shorts, two pairs sports socks, underpants, flip flops
Clothes not next to skin won't need much washing
Wash such clothes when the forecast is sunny and dry them on your bike
All items shoukd be quik drying --> man made fabrics or perhaps merino wool
Third pair of lycra shorts if camping
Sometimes you might have to wear something a bit smelly!
Local clothing such as a Sarong or lunghi can be useful
With care, specialist cycle clothing can be avoided
Reduce tool requirements by careful choice of components
Fit self-extractor bolts on cranks (example - http://www.jensonusa.com/store/product/CR408Z24-Truvativ+Self+Extractor+Crank+Bolt.aspx) - no need for crank tool
Relevant Allen keys may weigh less than a multi-tool and...
Swiss Army knives have screwdrivers
Threadless headset avoids the need for two spanners
Consider borrowing an adjustable on tour if needed (spanner flats rare on modern bikes)
Make sure pedals have a hex socket (avoid pedal spanner)
Mend bike before trip (!)
Get a charger that's compatible with all your gadgets / batteries
Get a PDA or smartphone (several gadgets in one)

EL1, EL2, 179, 369 Buses

2010-07-18T18:21:00.000+01:00

The super-duper new interactive bus maps that TfL have been plugging have still not been updated to show the new EL1 and EL2 "East London Transit" routes, and they are still showing the defunct 369 route and the 179 route as serving Barking.

Barking Central

2010-07-18T18:18:00.000+01:00

http://www.ahmm.co.uk/projects/doing/doing_barking_central_ii.php

"Barking Central I involved the construction and fit out of a new library framed by a colonnade and topped by two parallel housing blocks separated by a communal residential roof garden and the creation of an open and a wooded public square designed by Muf. Barking Central II will complete the masterplan by connecting the colonnade to the existing street and shopping centre by way of a ‘bike’ store and shop building. An eighteen story tower, an office and two further residential buildings reset the new wooded square in an open frame, close off some backs and reintroduce historical routes and connections."

I'm looking for news of the 'bike' store.

Kilsby Walk

2010-07-18T18:17:00.000+01:00

The Barking & Dagenham Post describes this as an alleyway (p21 of 13 June edition) but one of the residents says "it's completely damaged from the morning rush of lorries and cars". Apparently it is owned by the hops in Porters Avenue that back onto it. Anyway the Royal Mail have refused to deliver to three addresses because of the quality of the surface and dumped rubbish. A postman fell off his bicycle there and broke his ankle.

Let's hope the postman is soon back on his bike and the problems at Kilsby Walk are soon sorted out to everyone's satisfaction.

New cycle parking stands

2010-07-18T18:14:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Barking & Dagenham council for the new (additional) Sheffield Stands in Ripple Road near the junction with Harrow Road. Useful for people using the local shops.

At Upney station, where space is restricted, they have installed a different kind of stand that fixes to the railings. I think it is called the "cyclehoop". I'm not sure that using these is any more secure than locking up to the railings, but they are an elegant design and proper stands encourage cycling by making cyclists feel welcome.

Streetbond SP150E

2010-06-26T16:43:00.000+01:00

From the spec sheet of the blue coating being used on CSH3:

Friction Wet. ASTM E-303 British Pendulum Tester

Wheel path: coated 64, uncoated 57
adjacent to curb [kerb]: coated 73, uncoated 60

(I don't really know what this means, but you might!)

Cycle Super Highway - users views

2010-06-26T16:15:00.000+01:00

I've been on the A13 CSH - CSH3 (in the dry) - see previous post - and I experienced no grip problems whatsoever, so I'm puzzled by the reports of slipperiness. If you know of any incidents of skidding, please let me know details - where, when, weather. Obviously first hand reports are important - everything else could be a rumour tracing back to one incident.

Whilst I share sceptcism about painting the route blue just to brand it, I am only interested in this context to hear about safety concerns/issues.

If you have used the route without problems since it has been painted, as I have, please also let me know where, when and weather.

My Cycling Super Highway ride

2010-06-26T14:10:00.001+01:00

I’ve just ridden from River Road Barking (eastern end of CSH3) to Bow Creek (boundary of Newham with Tower Hamlets) and back as far as Jenkins Lane, Barking (a bit to the west of River Road in Newham) both ways on the southern side of the A13 (I think the northern side is only designated LCN+ route 13).

There was nothing new in this section of the route as far as I can see except the blue paint on the areas that were previously green. The weather was warm and dry with a strong breeze and I could not perceive any problems at all with the surface being slippery. I could not produce the slightest skid by accelerating or braking hard in a straight line. I did a very unscientific test with tap water from my drinking bottle and couldn’t perceive that the surface was particularly slippery when wet.

I am assuming that any infrastructure changes would be underway or complete, given the launch date. I am not that familiar with the route in detail west of Woolwich Manor Way, but I saw nothing any different to the type of provision on the rest of the recently upgraded stretch of the A13.

I saw some chaps actually applying the paint in Canning Town. They were using Streetbond SP150E.

From what I can see nothing of any consequence has been done here to change conditions for cycling, unless the slipperiness in the wet is worse than before as alleged, which would be very bad.

The white centre lines, give way markings and cycle decals have all been painted over and presumably will have to be re-done. This all just seems like a waste of paint, time and money on a vanity project carried out at a time when the public sector faces drastic cutbacks.

As to the launch event, it seems it can only be – based on the section of route that I saw - an attempt to pass off a paint job as something genuinely new or different, which is deceitful in my book.

TfL view on Cycle Super Highway

2010-06-26T09:32:00.000+01:00

A TfL officer wrote this on 14 June. I have annotated with comments in [ ]

"Yes we are aware of some reports [about where?] that some people have expressed concern as to the skid resistance of the surface. We have reviewed these comments and they do not appear to match with the actual performance of the surface when it has been assessed, either informally by cyclists riding on the surface and specifically testing its grip with a bike in a range of conditions, or by some more formal testing that we have undertaken. [my reports are from cyclists using the route]

In overall quality terms we expect the experience to be a very positive one for cyclists, as in many cases the blue surface is being applied after re-surfacing or other carriageway works which will have extensively improved the ride performance. [not in the case of A13 in Barking/Newham - relatively new cycle tracks are being 'painted']

There are three types of blue surface being used on Barclays Cycle Superhighways.

The first is a ‘high friction’ surface which you will be able to observe at junctions. This has a high level of skid resistance and is a blue form of other high friction surfaces currently used in these circumstances.

The second is an ‘encapsulated’ surface (where the aggregate used to provide grip is encapsulated within a blue glue-like material). This is being used ‘on-carriageway’ on links in-between junctions where the cycle lane forms part of the highway and provides a level of skid resistance equivalent to tarmac or other surfaces (such as bus lane surfacing).

The third is a blue paint which is applied ‘off-carriageway’ (e.g. on pavement or shared cyclist/pedestrian mixed use circumstances) which has a level of skid resistance appropriate for that circumstance. [This seems to be what has been used in Barking, though reports question whether the level of skid resistance is "appropriate"].

Each of these surfaces has undergone rigorous pretesting to review fade, wear and skid-resistance. Formal skid-resistance testing has also occurred at a significant number of locations on Route 7. Our tests to date have demonstrated that the surfaces are fit for purpose and are performing to a satisfactory level when being applied ‘on the ground’.

One effect that may be occurring is that when the new surface is first laid it is very blue and appears quite smooth and slick. We believe that some cyclists may be perceiving this as slippery even though in practice it is not.

If you have any specific examples of locations that any of your members feel do not provide appropriate levels of skid resistance, please do let me know as we will of course look into it. [I have e-mailed the writer today].

Liftshare week

2010-06-26T08:53:00.000+01:00

https://www.liftshare.com/uk/

4-8 October is lift share week. Formal car sharing ough to help break the link between car use and ownership and therefore help reduce car use and the attendant problems at the same time as helping to keep the advantages that cars bring.

More on Barking's Cycle Super Highway

2010-06-26T08:29:00.000+01:00

A local LCC member who has tried out the CSH describes it as having a "mirror finish". I advise staying off it

Oyster PAYG on National Rail; Out of Station Interchange

2010-06-25T18:31:00.000+01:00

http://www.oyster-rail.org.uk/ - I've just discovered this site and on this page

http://www.oyster-rail.org.uk/out-of-station-interchange-osi/ it lists the "out of station interchanges - ie like Aldgate - Fenchurch Street where your PAYG journey does not count as being broken, even though you have gone through the street,. just as if you had changed trains within a station.

A useful one is Leytonstone <--> Leytonstone High Road for we bikes-on train afficionados.

I don't know if it's authoritative - there seems to be discussion about where it has allegedly gone wrong

Buying Oyster Products from machines at Barking Station

2010-06-22T19:00:00.000+01:00

Oyster reader-writer units have been added to some of the ticket machines at Barking. Powered up, they sport a red light. They are as yet unusable, but let's hope they're up and running before long.

Freecycle moderators required

2010-06-21T20:03:00.001+01:00

Barking and Dagenham Freecycle needs volunteers to be group moderators. You must live in LB Barking and Dagenham. Training is provided.

If you're interested in making a contribution to your community and your planet; in learning a little about online community building and media relations; and in keeping stuff out of the local landfill, please keep reading!

Being a moderator doesn't require a lot of time but does require some dedication. There is lots of support available, it's fun and is a small thing that can make such a big difference.

Simply answer these questions and send to us. You'll hear back within a week. All information is strictly confidential and will not be shared or otherwise distributed outside of Freecycle management. We ask for some personal information for safety and liability reasons and to be able to contact you in an emergency.

Thanks for your consideration

Moderators
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Please tell us:

1. Your name, contact information (include a phone number and
full postal address of where you live.)

2. The e-mail address and ID you use on Freecycle.

3. Do you have time to moderate the group? It takes at least 10-15 min
two to three times a day to review messages, etc.

4. Do you have access to a computer, even on weekends and holidays?
If not, what days and/or hours would you be available?

5. Are you a co-owner, moderator or member of any other Freecycle groups?
Please tell us which groups and your level of involvement.

6. Are you a co-owner or moderator in any non-Freecycle
groups? We would like to know if you have experience as a moderator.

7. Any relevant experience that would be helpful for us to know.

Please get back to us as soon as possible if this sounds like something you'd like to do. And if you know someone else who would make a good moderator, please pass this message on to that person.
If you have any questions, please let us know - we're happy to help!

Reply to BarkingandDagenham_Freecycle@freecycle.org
PLEASE PUT "Barking and Dagenham Freecycle Mod" IN THE SUBJECT LINE

Electric assist pedals

2010-06-19T18:20:00.001+01:00

Stephen britt has developed retro fit motorised cycle pedals called Fast Forward Cycle Pedals. These will fit on to any cycle, to convert it into an electric bike. They will retail around £200 per pair. He has entered the Barclays one small step competition, and is in the top three to win a prize for developement. He needs the public to vote for him. There is an article in velovision magazine on his pedals. You can you vote for him at: https://www.takeonesmallstep.co.uk/Entry/View/2462

Comprehensive critique of Cycling Superhighways

2010-06-19T17:14:00.000+01:00

http://hembrow.blogspot.com/2010/03/oh-london-you-really-need-to-try-harder.html

Hembrow is a UK born resident of the Netherlands

Cycle mapping news

2010-06-19T16:55:00.000+01:00

From Camden LCC:

There's a lot going in the world of online mapping that's relevant to cyclists. Here are some highlights, starting closest to home:

maps.camdencyclists.org.uk
The purpose of maps.camdencyclists.org.uk is to provide a variety of overlaid mapping information (LCN routes, bike stands, TfL Hire Station locations, etc..) helpful to both cyclists and cycling campaigners. It overlays the information on a choice of background maps including OpenStreetMap and OpenCycleMap as well as the standard Google maps and Google Satellite view.

Recent additions include:

TfL hire station locations: Under 'Other markers'
Plan a Route button: Excellent journey plans from cyclestreets.net
Map Type Menu: Choose a different background map, e.g. OpenCycleMap or Satellite
Street View: Right-click anywhere for Street View images, with a feature to 'ride along the road'
Stands: Coverage is now excellent in Camden and useful throughout London. Scrollwheel zoom: Now available.
Help: Use the ? button for explanatory overlay

We also offer a 'Stands Wanted' feature (under 'Other markers') that can be used by any LCC group to mark locations for proposed stands. At present you need a login which I'll be happy to provide. Soon the facility to add 'Wanted stands' should be free for all to use.

cyclestreets.net
This Cambridge-based voluntary effort now offers the best cycle routes in the UK. It is based on the geodata available in OpenStreetMap (wiki.openstreetmap.org), the Wikipedia of mapping. More about that below under the Ordnance Survey item.
Cyclestreets has been in the news lately (http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/04/12/cycle_route_planner/) following a FoI request to the DfT which elicited that the government has spent over £2.3M on an inferior system that hasn't yet gone live for most of Britain.

Ordnance Survey opens some of its mapping
(http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/opendata/)
Ordnance Survey has come very late to the online mapping scene and despite the very high quality of their printed maps, it's not clear that they are the provider of choice for for online mapping. OpenStreetMap probably meets cyclists' needs better because the mapping data is continually updated by the community to include new features relevent to cyclists. For example, the new Camley Street link in Camden was included on OpenStreetMap the day it opened last summer, but it still isn't on the Ordnance Survey maps.

For a good explanation of the recent Ordinance Survey announcements see:
http://wiki.openstreetmap.org/wiki/Ordnance_Survey_Opendata

George Coulouris
maps.camdencyclists.org.uk

Police Consultation - Have Your Say on Policing in London

2010-06-19T15:54:00.000+01:00

The Metropolitan Police Authority (MPA) is consulting on London's policing priorities. We are interested in your opinion.
Please take part in a short questionnaire to tell us your views. To complete a questionnaire click on www.mpa.gov.uk/publications/policingplans/haveyoursay/ or call 020 7202 0063, leave your name and address and we will send you a paper copy.

If you require a telephone questionnaire please call 020 7202 0063, leave your name and telephone number and somebody will call you back.

We look forward to hearing your views on policing in London.

Met Forward is the MPA's strategic plan to make sure the Met will:
• fight crime and reduce criminality
• increase public confidence in policing
• achieve better value for money
To find out more go to www.mpa.gov.uk/publications/metforward/

Olympian Electric Bike

2010-06-19T10:40:00.000+01:00

Fabian Cancellara (the Swiss Olympic Champion) has been accused of using electric assist. The product he allegedly used is here:

http://www.gruberassist.com/english/product/retrofit/