@vfrmedia our busses don't carry bikes eigther. just the Flixbus, if you book early enough.
last year our train broke down and we decided to ride the rest of the way.. lol

@distelfliege when I was younger and lived in Reading, SE England I could ride to West London quicker than getting the train there it took a really unusual route and was a slow diesel unit).

it also costs €57 to get to London (only 100km) from here (not purely the fault of NS as they have to pay some money to Network Rail), whilst it is only about €30 to go from Hoek van Holland to Groningen (250km!).

(the prices in UK have got much worse since privatisation in 1994)

@vfrmedia @distelfliege I am so glad the regional service in the north of the Netherlands is run by Arriva and not NS. I'll take the rare moment of fuckery when the temps drop below zero over the year-round fuckery NS have become famous for.

As for bikes, though, I don't think Arriva are any better. I only ever carry folding bikes on the train anymore.

@Reinderdijkhuis @vfrmedia I thought the netherlands were more bicycle friendly..

@distelfliege @vfrmedia I mean I don't know if buying tickets for bikes on trains is any better, especially if you need to reserve in advance.
Folding bikes are free, though, so I bring those.

@Reinderdijkhuis @distelfliege in NL it appears to be safer to ride on the streets in many areas that have better road layout (Groningen appears to be one of them) but the trains have the same problem as in UK and the companies operate exactly the same policies (Arriva also provide bus and train services here). I think the gap in provision for cyclists affects the whole of Europe (not sure if SNCF is any better)

@vfrmedia @distelfliege I can confirm that Groningen is a great city to ride in and that the regional infrastructure is good enough for bike commuting, though I can think of some improvements on the route I use regularly.
Groningen does, however, have one of the most dangerous crossings for bicyclists in the whole country.

@distelfliege @vfrmedia (My route feels very unsafe after dark because it's a single two-way lane right next to the car lanes. This means that approaching cars will be shining their lights in your face, and if traffic is low they'll be shining their brights. I stopped riding in winter for several years until I got a headlight I could use to fight back with.)

@Reinderdijkhuis @distelfliege this area of England is quite good (in comparison to many others) as the cycle path that links town and rural areas was formerly a 110 km/h fast road but a new fast road was built on a raised level separated by fields so cyclists, buses and local traffic have the whole of the fast road (there is also a narrowed bit with a "sump buster" thing and CCTV cameras watching to discourage cars from using it as a rat run when the new fast road becomes congested..

@Reinderdijkhuis @distelfliege luckily next week for work I can either get a lift in from a colleague or work remotely providing we don't lose power and/or telecoms links at the nursing homes (and then have to activate the emergency procedures).

Just seen the "code geel" at KNMI for Groningen (and similar yellow alert warning for Eastern England)..