Free bike transport on regional trains in Puglia

The CYRONMED project, financed with Interreg ArchiMed 2000-2006 funds and with Puglia Region as Lead Partner, aimed at the identification of the main backbones of a Mediterranean cycle network. In particular, in Puglia, analyzing the interconnections between the Bicitalia and EuroVelo routes and all the modal interchange nodes, it was noted that bike and collective transport inter-modality would actually be possible only if:
a) Stations/stops, ports and airports had become bike-friendly through the elimination of physical, tariff and management barriers and the implementation of services for bike passengers (e.g., cycle parking);
b) the transport of bikes onboard various public transportation had been organized, promoted and made possible and had been equipped with dedicated spaces inside the trains as a service to passengers.
In order to implement the above, the Puglia Regional Government on 16/07/2007 signed an agreement with the five railway transport companies operating in Puglia regarding the development of bicycle and train inter-modality in Puglia.
The agreement requires the railway companies to commit to the following:
- equipping trains with spaces dedicated to bicycle transport;
- providing stations with barrier-free and signposted paths;
- providing the stations with equipped areas: outdoors for parking and indoors for the storage of travellers' bikes.
Since 1/08/2007, the cost of the ticket for transporting bikes onboard the trains has been eliminated.