YarraBUG

Faith and Val are joined in the studio by Nick Tyrell of Revitalise Sydney Road. We take a look at the complex situation on Sydney Road, the many roles it plays and the ways in which those roles have changed over the years. Addressing those changes is critical to ensuring Sydney Road remains a vibrant local shopping strip and Nick discusses some of the research and data about how people actually use Sydney Road and some of the options available to mitigate the impacts of prioirtizing its role as an arterial over others. You can follow Revitalise Sydney Road on Facebook here.

On todays program we take a audio journey, riding out west on Friday 23 February 2024, with Critical Mass, Bike West, Kidical Mass Melbourne, Joseph Road Precinct Action Group, Snuff Puppets, Extinction Rebellion and over two hundred of their best friends to demand safer pedestrian and cycling environment in Melbournes western suburbs after decades of neglect, under funding and industrial areas now becoming residental, demanding the Franco Cozzo Link be built and good news with in principal support from Maribyrnong Council and VicRoads to lower the speed limit on Hopkins Road, Footscray.Thank you to Freya Clough Good for recording the audio (and excellent vibes), interviews include numerous Critical Mass participants pre and post ride, Pierre Vairo, Joseph Road Precinct Action Group, Kim from XR Victoria, David Ettershank, Dr Tim Read and Cr Bernadette Thomas.Program musicShonen Knife, Cycling is funTycho, Montana

Val and Nic Dow [Melbourne BUG] talk to the changes to the wards and voting system that will come into force at the council elections coming up in October this year.

On this weeks program Chris chats to Davis Clayton from the Gig Workers Hub currently based at Micro-labs, 227-229 Bourke Street, Melbourne. Davis talks about being a food delivery worker, how the Gig Workers Hub was created, outreach, facilities avaliable for delivery workers, the recent rise of the gig economy, how apps, literally running on autopilot, control how people work and pitfalls like hours of unpaid downtime, examples like Milkrun for living wage, recent developments like Closing Loopholes Act included in FairWork, Transport Workers Union delivery workers campaigns, despite being opposed to City of Melbourne protected cycle lanes. Please support their current GoFundMe fundraiser: Keep gig workers employed at the Gig Workers' Hub to help the hub move to a new location.Local news includes the first Critical Mass for 2024, travelling to Footscray Road on Friday 23 February, organised by BikeWest, Kidical Mass Melbourne and Joseph Road Precinct Action Group, meeting 5.30pm at the State Library on Swanston"Cyclists of the west have put up with a lot of unsafe crap over the past year due to the construction of the West Gate “Tunnel”. We are gonna take out some of our frustration by massing up and heading down Footscray or Dynon Road"

Val chats to Jed Soutar from Freedom Solutions  about transforming lives through customising bikes, wheelchairs and trikes to solve mobility needs.https://freedomwheels.org.au/

On this weeks program Chris interviews Cezary Carmichael and Leo Norman from Fitzroy, naarm Melbourne, who are Two Birders Two Bikes One School, about their planned year long journey riding 20,000km around Australia, fundraising a school in Timor-Leste and documenting the unique cultural and ecological importance of birds in Australia and hopefully spotting at least 700 species.While taking a short break on Mt Glorious near meanjin Brisbane, Cezary and Leo discuss how their got started, taking up birding during covid-19 lockdowns as a way of reconnecting, seeing rare birds and their goals for the trip.Local news includes Glen Eira Council Queens Avenue cycling corridor, last days to make your mark on BikeSpot, Bite Sized Rides, Streets Alive Darebin on whats happening in South Crescent, Northcote, CargoBikes: A Game Changer (Sat 3 Feb 2024) plus a screening of Motherload and Co-Designing Our Streets (Sun 18 Feb 2024) as part of the 2024 National Sustainability Festival.Program musicCycling Is Fun – Shonen KnifeAmerica, A horse with no namefilous, Bicycle feat. klei

Val and Faith are back in the studio for 2024 and kick things off with a catch up on some of the local news over the summer break.We start by sharing our bike moments and for both of us they seem to resolve around red traffic lights and those magic moments when they turn green! Over the weekend a solidarity ride for the Gaza Sunbirds was organised by An Other Collective in Melbourne and Sydney as part of a world wide show of support. You can find out more about the Gaza Sunbirds at their website and donate to support their actions in Gaza providing aid.Darebin Council is holding a special meeting on Monday to consider a recision motion on some safety improvements for Soth Crescent and Newcastle Streets in Darebin. Take a look at the Streets Alive Darebin page for all the background on this and updated information on the original motion and the recision motion. Southside, in Glen Eira, the LXRP are planning to remove 100+ mature trees to build a protected bike lane. On a wide street with plenty os space for pedestrians, parking, moving vehicles, and protected bike lanes it seems incredible that these trees can't be saved. Especially when they are so important to those using active transport modes. You can read more on Glen Eira BUG's Facebook page. And who. could have missed it, but just in case you did, the Walmer Street bridge has re-opened! It has been a sage and much of that saga well documented by Yarra BUG Radio but the bridge is finally done! For now. In bad news, the Footscray Road shared path is now indefinietly closed due to the state government's inability to safely manage truck traffic. What do they do in the rest of the world we wonder? It's a mystery. And from the United States, the War on Cars dive into the horrendous increase in pedestrian fatalities and the uptake of SUVs. Two dates to put in your diary for 2024 have already been anounced: Feburary 25th will see a welcome summer edition of the World Naked Bike Ride in Melbourne and Sunday June 30th is set for the next Melburn Roobaix.

This weeks program is the third of three Yarra Bicycle Users Group Radio summer specials that recorded the E-bike Q & A by Darebin Loves Bikes held on 3 December 2023 at Preston Library.The E-bike Q & A by Darebin Loves Bikes summer special over the next three weeks on 3CR is for anyone tempted to delve into e-bikes but unsure where to begin. Expert panellists and local e-bike riders answer questions, you can gain insights into the affordability of e-bikes, listen to various options for carrying kids, shopping, and pets, and even learn about the possibility of converting your existing bike. Find out how to charge an e-bike effectively and discover just how far you can go on a single charge and more.  PanellistsThijs van der Heijden, Sparque, Technical advisor, best e-bike for you, e-bike models, leases, test riding, road rules, charging, security,Nell Sudano, Consultant, Technical advisor, e-bike conversions, affordable e-bikes, getting into riding, everyday bike skills, charging , road rules, security,Jack Comte, 99 Bikes Preston, Technical advisor, best e-bike for you, e-bike models, charging, security,Mike McEvoy and Deanne Jones, Reservoir riders and climate activists, riding with families, commuter riding, personal climate action Questions & Answers + time points:3:55, E-bike maintenance, hub drive, mid drive, how can you prevent theft?9:50, Is it cheating? Will I lose fitness if I’m currently using a manual bike?15:45, Questions about purchasing or renting a e-bike, what should people know, e-bike and general bike law questions23:00, Public questions, heat, weather impact on batteries, closing commentsThank you to Heidi Marfurt, Katy Daily, Kira Whitaker, Cr Susan Rennie, Christine Banks, Ian Singleton, Ed Smart, Sam Black, Darebin Libraries and Darebin Council Program musicShonen Knife, Cycling is funTycho, Dive

This weeks program is the second of three Yarra Bicycle Users Group Radio summer specials that recorded the E-bike Q & A by Darebin Loves Bikes held on 3 December 2023 at Preston Library.The E-bike Q & A by Darebin Loves Bikes summer special over the next three weeks on 3CR is for anyone tempted to delve into e-bikes but unsure where to begin. Expert panellists and local e-bike riders answer questions, you can gain insights into the affordability of e-bikes, listen to various options for carrying kids, shopping, and pets, and even learn about the possibility of converting your existing bike. Find out how to charge an e-bike effectively and discover just how far you can go on a single charge and more.  PanellistsThijs van der Heijden, Sparque, Technical advisor, best e-bike for you, e-bike models, leases, test riding, road rules, charging, security,Nell Sudano, Consultant, Technical advisor, e-bike conversions, affordable e-bikes, getting into riding, everyday bike skills, charging , road rules, security,Jack Comte, 99 Bikes Preston, Technical advisor, best e-bike for you, e-bike models, charging, security,Mike McEvoy and Deanne Jones, Reservoir riders and climate activists, riding with families, commuter riding, personal climate action Questions & Answers + time points:2:56, Lots of questions about batteries, charging, percentage, tips, battery life state9:56, Battery discharge when bike not in use, multiple batteries, different modes, battery modes, battery health, charge cycles17:20, Battery performance, lifespan, battery replacement23:20, Cargobikes, e-cargo bikes, types of ebikes, carrying shopping, kids, shopping and more Thank you to Heidi Marfurt, Katy Daily, Kira Whitaker, Cr Susan Rennie, Christine Banks, Ian Singleton, Ed Smart, Sam Black, Darebin Libraries and Darebin Council Program musicSleepy Dreamers, Bike SongTycho, Alright

This weeks program is the first of three Yarra Bicycle Users Group Radio summer specials that recorded the E-bike Q & A by Darebin Loves Bikes held on 3 December 2023 at Preston Library.The E-bike Q & A by Darebin Loves Bikes summer special over the next three weeks on 3CR is for anyone tempted to delve into e-bikes but unsure where to begin. Expert panellists and local e-bike riders answer questions, you can gain insights into the affordability of e-bikes, listen to various options for carrying kids, shopping, and pets, and even learn about the possibility of converting your existing bike. Find out how to charge an e-bike effectively and discover just how far you can go on a single charge and more.  PanellistsThijs van der Heijden, Sparque, Technical advisor, best e-bike for you, e-bike models, leases, test riding, road rules, charging, security,Nell Sudano, Consultant, Technical advisor, e-bike conversions, affordable e-bikes, getting into riding, everyday bike skills, charging , road rules, security,Jack Comte, 99 Bikes Preston, Technical advisor, best e-bike for you, e-bike models, charging, security,Mike McEvoy and Deanne Jones, Reservoir riders and climate activists, riding with families, commuter riding, personal climate action Questions & Answers + time points:4:15, Start4:45, Introduction and Welcome to Country7:18, Introduction to panellists15:18, I heard there are two types of e-bike: pedal assist and those that use a throttle. Can you explain the difference? 17:00, What can I expect to spend on buying, leasing or converting a bike?17:50, How easy, safe and cost-effective is it to convert your current bike?21:20, Leasing and renting options23:50, What about ongoing costs Thank you to Heidi Marfurt, Katy Daily, Kira Whitaker, Cr Susan Rennie, Christine Banks, Ian Singleton, Ed Smart, Sam Black, Darebin Libraries and Darebin Council Program musicShonen Knife, Cycling is funTycho, Dive