Can I take a cycle on this train?
We'd like to be able to determine if
- Yes, I can take a bicycle on board
- No, I can't or
- I need to book my bike in advance
This information has recently been collated for the UK at http://www.nationalrail.co.uk/passenger_services/cyclists/2012CyclingbyTrain.pdf.
As part of LOCO2's Off the Rails hackday we began to codify the information in this PDF into a format that can be used to programatically determine which restrictions apply to carrying my bike. The idea is that you only use the information in a train's SCHEDULE record and the information in this Google Fusion Table:
If the service is a Rail Replacement Bus then No, you can't take a bike.
Pseudo-code
function CanCarryBike()
{
SELECT * FROM BikeRules WHERE Operating_Co IS atoc_code
foreach rule in rules {
if (joining station or leaving station in rule.Stations
AND eval(rule.Logic)) {
return rule.Bike;
}
}
return 'Yes';
}
Use-case
Our goal is to enable a route-finder like http://www.opentraintimes.com/ to have a
[x] with a bike
checkbox that would avoid routes and times where bikes are not allowed.
Folding bikes
Please note that you can always carry a folded-up folding bike inside a bag on any train in the UK.