How to take your bike on a bus or train

When  Tom and I travelled to Mongolia we used overland public transport and didn't pay extra to take the bikes with us. However, it seems that  the guidelines about paying for taking bikes are unclear and require some clarification so here are some of our findings.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="334" caption="Trans Siberian long distance train"][/caption]



I boxed up my bike and trailer into a frame box, removing the forks from the frame and letting the air out of the tyres. The box was bulging but it was well packed with no holes or protrusions from stray quick releases, bolts or pointy bike parts! It was quite a feat to get all of the bike and trailer into one box, but it was indeed possible after plenty of beard scratching. In order to make it easier to move the box about, I attached a skateboard truck wheel to one end so it could roll over the ground.

Eurolines are the main long distance bus service in western Europe. From what I understood, one piece of luggage can be a maximum size and shape of 100 x 70 x 50 cm. You can take two pieces of luggage plus one piece of hand luggage. The guidelines on the Eurolines website imply that they may agree to take things which are larger than the given dimensions if there is space. On the bus between London and Riga on the outward journey no questions were asked about the bike.

The onward bus company from Riga to Moscow was Ecolines who are the equivalent of Eurolines in Eastern Europe I believe. When putting the box onto the bus at the station the driver mumbled, in Russian, something about thirty Euros  but showed me nothing to officially confirm this and he didn't insist on charging me so I was able to get on the bus and nothing else was said about it; I wasn't charged anything.

In Russia, Tom and I took the Trans Siberian train from Moscow to  Ulan Ude. Although you are technically supposed to inform the train company in advance so they can put oversized luggage in the baggage cars, a frame box will fit nicely into the luggage rack above the beds in the four birth sleeping compartments. Our train was at midnight and so the train attendants were less concerned about arguing about luggage and more with getting everyone on the train and going to sleep. The timing definitely helped.

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="334" caption="In the 3rd Class coach on the Trans-Siberian"][/caption]

In Asia it is a lot easier to take bikes on public transport because there is much more of a 'can-do' attitude compared to Western  Europe and particularly the UK where it's more about sticking to regulations. However, having done a bit of reading about putting bikes on trains in the UK, I think if you are sensible and take the bike outside of peak travel times you can take a bike with a bit of smiling and negotiation. If you are able to pack the bike up, or even better use  a folding bike (which you are officially allowed to take on trains) then you'll have less trouble. Edit:- I have recently taken my bike on the train from Market Harborough to London and there is a bike compartment normally at the front of the train. At the time there were three bikes being carried, and it was no problem for me to take my bike.

Apparently the Chinese trains coming from Beijing to Ulaan Baatar and onward to Moscow are more fussy about taking bikes and you have to book in advance. However, we met two Fins and an Aussie who managed to take all their bikes (boxed up) on the train but they said that the staff were then grumpy with them for the entire onward trip.

On the way back from Moscow to Riga on an Ecolines bus I was presented with a laminated document which indicated I should pay £20 for carriage of my bike which was over half the price of the ticket itself. I considered this to be astronomical so I refused to pay it, although I wasn't rude about it. My quiet persistence to not pay eventually lead to the bus staff giving up. My bike was well packed and weighed about 20kg. It was comparable in size to some of the other luggage being taken. In the Ecolines-specific guideline document I was shown details for extra charges levied particularly on bicycles packed in boxes. Personally I don't understand why bikers get a raw deal compared to other people taking luggage of a similar size, shape and weight. My thinking is that planes are somewhat to blame with their often expensive charges for taking bikes and usually the bike-owner is a tourist and therefore an easy target for money-extraction.

The bus between Riga and Dortmund was a Eurolines bus and one of the drivers, on seeing the box decided it was a television and got rather angry, developing a strange twitch in his face. I countered this with a deliberate calmness. I repeatedly affirmed that 'it was ok' and 'the box would fit', and I corrected him that it was a bike not a telly. He wanted 30 euros for the bike, but he showed me no documentation and his fellow bus driver didn't appear to be bothered. I decided it was an attempt to extract money from me for his own pocket. Nevertheless, I refused to pay again and all was forgotten. I even got a sticker which allowed me to take the bike on the next journey unhindered.

The rule of thumb is not to extract the michael when taking bikes on buses and trains. Pack the bike well and as small as possible, adhere to regulations if they make sense and be super-polite and calm.

I leave you with Tom's excellent advice. "Just nod, smile a lot, put on a charming grin and say spaseba, spaseba, spaseba, sorry I don't understand, everything will be fine, I've done this a million times before. Oooh looks it fits perfectly. Thank you!" and then walk away as inconspicuously as you can.