Dartford tunnel bike bus.

[Beebo]

View: https://youtu.be/rQsk1r2_jwo?si=DAJsI4OOZfHRuFu8


A bit of cycling history. Unsurprisingly it was phased out through under use.

And for anyone who is interested, below is the current cycle provision. Not quite as impressive.


https://www.gov.uk/dartford-crossing-bike

 

[ianrauk]

Apparently one if those buses is being renovated.

I've used the free bike crossing many times. These days it's either in a van or on the back of a pick up. No where near as good as that bus.

 

[Cycleops]

....and nowhere near as expensive.

 

[Beebo]

....and nowhere near as expensive.

They had 5 custom buses. 4 of them running at any one time with a bus leaving every 6 minutes!
Even the most cycle friendly of councils would know that’s far too many.

 

[ianrauk]

The thing is they keep cutting the service. It used to be on demand. Either end, you used the phone to call the control and a few minutes later dependent on the traffic your lift would turn up.
A few years back they changed it to only operating certain times of the day which was a right pain.

It can be very busy at times with a lot of people working at the nearby huge Lakeside shopping centre using it.
It's not unusual to find a queue waiting to cross.

 

[Sharky]

Very interesting. I've never taken a bike through the tunnel. I was commuting daily through the tunnel from about 1975, to Brentwood. If it been around then, I may have tried it. There was only one tunnel in those days and the original promise was that when the tolls had covered the building costs, it would be free! Now we have two tunnels and a bridge and still traffic jams and still paying! I'm fortunate that I am eligible for the local discount scheme and costs me just £10 pa for 50 crossings.

 

[Emanresu]

Not exactly a bucket list item but might make a good circular trip.

Start at Barking Riverside Station then over to the south side to Woolwich. Then NS1 to Dartford. Then back through the tunnel to Purfleet (old haunt of mine) and back to Barking. About 45 miles it seems.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I've never used the Dartford pick-up service. I really ought to, just for the experience, if nothing else. For getting to Essex I'm an occasional user of the Gravesend-Tilbury ferry, which is not far to the east of Dartford.