Tyne & Wear Metro promotes itself as cycle friendly

The Tyne & Wear Metro has just extended the areas of the system you can take a bike on board the trains off peak as they continue to promote themselves as a cycle friendly system. Bikes can now be taken on board the trains between Callerton Parkway and Jesmond, Manors and Jesmond via Whitley Bay and Gateshead Stadium and South Shields/South Hylton on weekdays from 1000-1500 and 1900 until the end of service as well as all day at weekends.

In addition there are almost 300 cycle lockers and cycle storage pods across 60 stations making it easy to access the Tyne and Wear Metro with a bike. There are also smart lockers which can be accessed with a Pop card.

Huw Lewis, Customer Services Director at Nexus, said: “We want people to know how easy it is to combine cycling with Metro travel today. We have almost 300 smart lockers and secure storage pods right across Metro whenever you travel. Most of our customers take Metro to get to work and these are perfect to use during the busy peak periods. Everyday cycling for work, education and a trip to the shops is starting to take off in North East England. Good, secure smart lockers expand the reach of Metro by making it easier to get to the nearest station and travel on by train to town and city centres. You can also take a folding bike on Metro at any time, and for people travelling later in the day we are now extending a trial allowing up to two bikes per train to most of the Metro network at off-peak times. We have worked closely with cycle groups to get the storage offer right at our 60 stations, and explore ways we can allow non-folding bikes on our trains off peak which reflects the needs of all our customers. Our trial has been successful up to now so we can open up new areas for off-peak travel. We will learn from this trial as we make decisions about the design of our £362m new train fleet.”

Bikes are still banned from busy stations in the tunnels under Newcastle and Gateshead and they must be carried safely, without causing delays to trains and without causing nuisance to other passengers or getting in the way of wheelchair users. Wheelchair users and pushchairs will get priority over bikes to use the designated area inside each train.

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