Not easy to catch cyclists at Rennes station in the morning. As soon as the train has stopped, they walk down the platform before quickly getting on their bikes to go to work. We take a few steps alongside Pierre (we are not sure of the first name). He comes almost every day from Vitré by TER with his old red racing two-wheeler. “It’s true that it’s a hassle to find a place on the train. Especially on Wednesday it gets more and more crowded. But it remains the most practical way for me, ”slips the young man.
Jean-Paul doesn’t have the time either. Yellow vest on the back, the retiree must go to Nantes but struggles to book his ticket on the terminal. He runs with his VTC to the ticket office before heading towards the platform and catching his train in extremis. Jean-Paul knows that since June 1, you have to pay to board your bike on regional trains in Brittany. But he did not know that this purchase was impossible at the terminals and even at the counter. His only solution: catch a controller on board at the risk of the compartment being full. The ideal: book online on the Breizhgo website.
“I would like to take the one before but it is shielded”
This reservation system relaunched for the summer had been put in place last year to prevent cyclists from being able to board the train. “Every holiday, we had people who stayed at the quay because there was no space for their bikes. We could not sit idly by,” admits Benjamin Flohic, regional adviser in charge of the file.
Yohanna knows it well. Every morning, he takes the 8:40 a.m. train to Guipry-Messac to avoid the crowds. “I would like to take the one before but it is shielded, especially from Bruz. It’s too much of a hassle”. However, free has advantages in the eyes of some. Sarah, an Australian on a trip to Saint-Brieuc, loves regional trains for that. “In the TGV, it’s rotten, you absolutely have to book and there are only two or three places per train. In the TER, it’s great, you can always go up”. Since June 1, he is however advised to also book for the TER, at the risk of staying at the dock.
Restricted seats for bicycles
For this second summer, the region has made a major effort by dividing the price of transporting a bicycle by three, going from three to one euro. “It is a symbolic price, a minimum to guarantee a place for each traveler”, engages the regional elected official. Considered, free admission was ruled out because of the risk of “overbooking” which could have pushed users to hold their place on several trains. “I understand the argument but I think we should still encourage people to take their bikes while remaining free,” said Stéphane, descending from the TER from Montauban-de-Bretagne.
He subscribes to the services of Breizhgo and is therefore not affected by the reservation for one euro. But it struggles a bit when there are more summer visitors. To cope with this peak in summer attendance, the Brittany region has agreed to “transform” certain trains by covering seats with tarpaulins to accommodate bicycles. The lines to Quimper, Brest and Saint-Malo are concerned, at the rate of a hundred trains per week.
Last year, 18,000 reservations for the summer in Brittany.
“We were inspired by what has been done in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region to offer it to the region. It’s an inexpensive adaptation that makes it possible to accommodate 16 more bicycles in each train,” explains Frédéric François, representative of the Bicyclette Bretagne collective and the Rayons d’Action association. The system has sometimes been criticized, especially for its cost, but it has found its audience. Last year, we counted 18,000 reservations just for the summer in Brittany.
It remains to settle the thorny question of daily trains. Although they are almost new, the Regio2N double-decker trains purchased by the region have very few spaces for two-wheelers. “It is a constraint at peak times. For commuters, we want to draw inspiration from what is done in the Netherlands by encouraging the use of secure bicycle parking in stations,” explains Frédéric François. Disadvantage: the traveler must have two bicycles. Or have the possibility of renting one very easily near the quays. The Dutch do it. The Bretons not yet.