I disagree with that.

For things like work commute having rental bikes on both ends is ideal, but renting a bike for a holiday traveling is just not a good experience.

Cycle tourism is a good thing, and it can only happen if there are spaces on trains for bikes.

I'm fine with having to pay extra/travel outside of rush traffic, but there should be an option. Otherwise you're forcing cyclists to take the car, which they might not even own, or killing a good green tourism option.

can't fully agree with this, since size matters. bikes take about 10x less space than cars.

stations filled up with private bikes is not a good argument either, since they would otherwise hire an OV fiets, which takes.. the same amount of space!

not wanting bikes on trains, okay, that's a fair argument. tho I suppose one could fix it by adding a specialized bike compartment to each wagon, which you can use for a fee. the fee would offset the cost of the extra amount of train needed. 🤷‍♀️

I think it'd scale fine, after all, a bike is about the same size as a person, so if bikes on public transport don't scale, people on public transport wouldn't scale very well to start with.

bigger problem with cars is the amount of road they need.. a bike sitting on a train really doesn't compare. like in the space a car takes on a road, you could fit like 200 bikes in the same space in a train..

I love biking, but I 100% agree with you. The issue isn't "cars", but "private transportation", which includes bikes.

If biking is still required, that's a failure in public transportation and lack of walkable infrastructure.

I think having a limited number of reservable bike spots on trains is a good thing. Bikes don't take much space and they aren't heavy, but they let you do certain types of activities. Something similar (although of a higher priority ofc) is when we accommodate people with strollers or mobility scooters on transit.

I don't particularly like how some train operators simply let you come on a train only when there's enough capacity; it just adds a level of uncertainty to the trip.

The OV bikes are heavy, have no gears, and you need to know how to use the back-pedal for braking. And, if memory serves, they run 5 euro a day. Also, not available to non-residents, so you need a resident friend's OV card to get them.

One alternative that's great for the "last kilometer" problem is a kick-scooter. I didn't see these in the Netherlands, but they would be a good fit. They fold smaller than a person, and can go everywhere.

I think there needs to be room for both.

City-owned bikes are great for most people, but there's a growing number of us who are disabled and ride adapted bikes. Often these adaptions are not noticed by other people, or are not obvious, but are quite important for us. I would like trains to continue to expand their bike spaces, the same way I want them to do so with wheelchair spaces; but I would like able-bodied folks to be conscious of this, and do as you by incorporating city-owned bikes into their journey, so that cycling and public transport is still accessible for those of us who are disabled.
(And to maybe, please, leave the end spaces on bike racks free, to accommodate our sometimes odd-shaped bikes).

But I do hope folks don't do the old 'how dare you park in the disabled space/take the disabled seat' thing they do when our disabilities aren't visible.

I think there are probably two needs here that are both partially being met - those of the commuter / urbanist and those of the cycling enthousiast.

For commuters I would agree a larger OV fiets plan would be the better approach.

For the enthousiast, no rental will be a full replacement in terms of enjoyment and need. I'm not sure why train-bike facilities should not scale with their demands as well. Taking the bike in the train is already (rightly) a hastle over OV-fiets...

I still feel like both options are missing something, no matter which city you're in, but I've been wondering for years how to solve it (without success)

If I cycle with my own bike, I might not be able to take it on the train later. If I use a rental bike and the train, there might not be a rental bike at the destination station.

If I take my bike to the station, leave it there and go downtown, it's inconvenient if I later end my journey at a different station near my home.

@NilaJones @sgued per Soso above it sounds like those are largely bikepackers, which is a special case where the hassle is warranted, but it's not most people who have a practical use for riding a bike on arrival.

It could also be that there isn't bike hire available where they're going, or if there is they don't know about it.

Anyway I think if a train line is pressed for space to transport bikes on some routes, they could maybe invest in increasing the coverage of hire bikes.

For normal cases, yes, using rental bikes at the destination is more reasonable than taking your own bike on the train.

But I doubt that occupying a rental bike for a week because you need to go outside of town is very efficient, and certainly not anywhere near the scope of the current OV-fiets system.

the last time i took my bike on the train was to get it to a repair place 4 towns away.

and to move a bike from the station near work and bring it home. i mostly do try in peak season to avoid bike-on-train because it is kind hassle city.

if I couldn't take my bike on the train I couldn't *use* the train; my destinations are out of walking range from the stations.

Bikes extend transit range.

Rental services could cover that, but they'd have to be common enough to be a guarantee, and actually fit me.

If you read my posts as "we should ban all bikes on trains" then you have problems with reading comprehension.

Yes, you should BE ABLE to take a bicycle on a train sometimes.

That is totally different than "train companies should encourage people to take their bicycles on trains and add extra bike carriages to their trains."

It should be POSSIBLE to bring a bike on a train but a) it should not be encouraged & b) there should be an extra charge to account for the space taken up by the bike.