Saturday, August 04, 2007 - 07:00
Local News - It is said necessity is the
mother of invention. So, when Justin Lafontaine needed a way to get his bike to
Niagara Falls without driving - he invented one. In doing so, he brought a whole
new meaning to the term riding the rails. One year ago, Lafontaine was a
Toronto-based cyclist with no licence, no car and no interest in getting either.
Now, the 32-year-old is the man behind Bike Train, a new pilot project aimed at
bringing Toronto cyclists to Niagara and vice versa.
With one weekend out of the four scheduled for this summer now complete, Bike
Train has officially left the station.
"A year ago, I never in my wildest dreams would have told people I would be
working on this. It was definitely really nice to see it happen," said
Lafontaine, who was first introduced to cycling in Niagara during a bike tour in
April 2006.
After that first visit last spring, Lafontaine planned to make a few return
riding trips during the summer to the region, but when he realized there was no
easy way to get here, a light bulb went off.
Prior to Lafontaine's project this year, VIA Rail Canada didn't allow bicycles
on its trains between Toronto and Niagara. The only other option was to take a
bus, but the coach companies require bikes to be disassembled and packed into a
box for them to be brought along.
"I was pretty shocked that a cyclist like me couldn't come down to the Niagara
Region," he said. "Lots of people are in the same boat." With the idea for Bike
Train stuck in his head, Lafontaine went to work studying the market to see if
there was enough interest from riders and potential sponsors to get the project
out of the station. Although VIA doesn't normally bring a baggage compartment on
its trains along the Golden Horseshoe routes, it was willing to work with
Lafontaine if there was enough interest.
However, getting the interest took money, and getting the money was a long
process involving various partners and the Ministry of Transportation.
Part of the Ministry's mandate is to help fund pilot transportation projects,
especially those aimed at making Ontario 'greener' - which is why a plan to have
people take a train instead of a car and then ride around instead of drive
around is an ideal situation.
So, with the financial backing from the province, the City of Toronto and the
Niagara-on-the-Lake Chamber of Commerce, as well as studies showing the interest
was there, Lafontaine launched the Bike Train in the spring.
"It was a lot of work, but with the assistance of all the partners, it all came
together," he said.
The process of riding the Bike Train is a fairly simple one. You show up at the
train station - either Union Station in Toronto or the Niagara Falls VIA station
- and your bike is loaded into a luggage car while you board a standard
passenger car. Other than that, the trip is the same as riding any VIA train.
Although there was a media launch in June, the first official weekend for the
program was held the weekend of July 21 to 23, when the bike train went between
Toronto and Niagara Falls three times - once per day each way.
The numbers are still being calculated, but Lafontaine considers the opening
weekend a resounding success. The Saturday morning departure from Toronto and
the Sunday evening departure from Niagara Falls were both complete sell-outs
carrying the maximum 56 riders and their bikes.
In all, there were 150 tickets sold going one way or the other.
As the sellouts indicate, the most popular trip was a weekend of riding in
Niagara with Torontonians arriving at noon Saturday, riding though the day,
staying overnight and then riding more before heading back on the train Sunday
night.
That's good news to local hotel operators, who are hoping to cash in on the new
tourism venture.
"We're adjacent to the Greater Niagara Circle Trail, so we see a great potential
for customers coming in," said Lynn Leclerc, the sales manager of the Best
Western Rose City Suites in Welland, which is marketing itself as a
bike-friendly hotel and is one of the Bike Train's advertisers.
"We see more people coming and bringing their bikes. We encourage them to bring
their bikes into their rooms."
Those taking part in the first weekend of riding for Bike Train represented a
cross-section of society: There were men and women, a wide range of ages and
various ethnic backgrounds. The bikes themselves were also an interesting mix
with everything from cheap big box store brands to exotic touring bikes.
"There was a real mix of retired couples, families, there were groups of
university students. There were all types of travellers," Lafontaine said.
Donald Wiedmann took the first train to Niagara with his seven-year-old daughter
Charlotte and the two pedaled nearly 80 kilometres together in less than two
days.
"I've been waiting 47 years for this," said Wiedmann.
"This region is perfect for this. It seems like there are lots of people coming
by car, so if they can come by bike, they will."
Greg Uchiyama, who took the trip with his wife Nicky, said he's surprised it has
taken so long for something like this to catch on here.
"We've travelled in Europe and it's pretty normal there to be able to take your
bike on the trains. I'm pretty sure it will be popular when people find out
about this," he said.
"It seems like cars (in Niagara) are more used to the bikes, so it's a bit
safer."
With one weekend of the Bike Train now complete, Lafontaine is bracing for what
will be a busy August. There are trains scheduled for Aug. 11 to 12, Aug. 18 to
20 and Aug. 26 to 27. Trains leave Toronto at 10 a.m. each day and then leave
Niagara Falls at 5 p.m. The cost is $59 for a round trip ticket or $35 for a
one-way trip.
Beyond this year, Lafontaine is already looking ahead to 2008, when he's hoping
to add more trips for Niagara riders wanting to pedal around Toronto.
There are also longer-term plans to add more Bike Train trips to spots around
the province, such as Ottawa and Kingston.
"As far as I'm concerned, the Bike Train is already an overwhelming success. So
definitely I see it continuing next year and expanding to include more weekends
and departures," Lafontaine said. "This year because it's was a pilot project,
we kept things simple and manageable. Next year there will be a bigger focus on
promotion and marketing."
Which is good news for riders on both sides of Lake Ontario.
Bike Train Schedule (Note, this is the 2007 schedule)
August 11, 12, 18, 19, 25, 26
Depart Toronto at 10 a.m.
Depart Niagara Falls at 5 p.m.
Aug. 20
Depart Toronto at 10 a.m.
Depart Niagara Falls at 2:15 p.m.
Pricing
Return trip is $59. One-way trip is $35.
For more information or tickets, visit the Bike Train website at
www.biketrain.ca or phone 1-888-619-5987.
