Greener Travellers

[Sawdusty surfer]

A friend of mine is cycling to the festival if she can get a ticket. Coach travellers are considered 'green' and get earlier sales....shouldn't cyclists get an advantage too?

j

[whisty]

Err, good idea, get the bikes out of the van a mile up the road

[LondonTom]

Its not about being green really for this. Its about trying to help stagger arrivals I think Neil said.

Otherwise surely you could have a system where you don't have to get on the SEE coaches but could use trains/national expresss which are equally as green.

[Avalon_Fields]

True, but it would be impossible for the festival to control and police this, it can only really work if they arrange the transport too (Even if you had 'proof' of a railway ticket, you could just cancel it and drive there!). And if you arrived by bike, how do they know you've not just parked the Land Cruiser half as mile up the road?

Staggering arrivals is working better in my experience, campervans arriving early Tuesday is straightforward for example. So must reduce traffic at later times.

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

I'm not sure if it's still the case but in 2011 they ran a scheme whereby those cycling to the festival could camp in their own dedicated fenced off area of a field, with free lock ups for the bicycles, exclusive access to solar showers and some compost toilets. There were even discounts on t shirts and food.

I remember walking past the cyclists camping area at the end of the festival in 2011 and it was spotlessly clean. Not one bit of litter.

[hedgepeg]

And if you arrived by bike, how do they know you've not just parked the Land Cruiser half as mile up the road?

I cycled from cornwall in 2013 and stayed in the cyclist's campsite. a lot of the people I met in there had done just that; got a lift from mumsy or pater into glastonbury town or shepton mallet or somewhere then got on their bikes. bleddy lightweights i tell thee!!

Edited September 16, 2014 by hedgepeg

[Ruwise]

I'm pretty sure before the resale last year cyclists were asked if they wanted tickets if they were willing to cycle again as a reward.

[hedgepeg]

I'm not sure if it's still the case but in 2011 they ran a scheme whereby those cycling to the festival could camp in their own dedicated fenced off area of a field, with free lock ups for the bicycles, exclusive access to solar showers and some compost toilets. There were even discounts on t shirts and food.

I remember walking past the cyclists camping area at the end of the festival in 2011 and it was spotlessly clean. Not one bit of litter.

compost toilets were terrific but the solar showers were a bit pants imo (good effort though). overall the campsite had a isolated feel from the rest of the festival and was a long drag back after a good nights festivaling. it kinda felt like it was outside the fest. they shoulda let us ride out bikes around site!

Edited September 16, 2014 by hedgepeg

[YetAnotherOldHippy]

As an ex-green traveller (I don't count now as I use the train) I've had a few discussions about the advantages to coach and car users over other transport.

All we could come up with is opening a few fields, probably around wicket/woodsies for Tuesday evening arrivals by bicycle or train. The obvious thing would be to offer these tickets early at the same time as the coach packages.

You could easily discourage non-cycling cheats by having a different ticket/wristband with one-time entry only (ie no pass out) which would put off many.

Who am I kidding, a pound off a t-shirt and a free cuppa it is again

[TomfromStroud]

I cycled from cornwall in 2013 and stayed in the cyclist's campsite. a lot of the people I met in there had done just that; got a lift from mumsy or pater into glastonbury town or shepton mallet or somewhere then got on their bikes. bleddy lightweights i tell thee!!

Lightweights, perhaps, but if it helps to ease congestion around the site and as a result eases the passing of future licence applications to Mendip District Council I'll take it!

[grumpyhack]

In part it depends on how you measure 'green'. Are people who travel by coach, train or bike and then leave everything behind, including wrecked tents, to go to landfill really any 'greener' than people who go by car and take everything home with them, including damaged tents to be repaired for next time?

If they also car-share I guess that cuts the emissions down even further.

Edited September 16, 2014 by grumpyhack

[Yoghurt on a Stick]

In part it depends on how you measure 'green'. Are people who travel by coach, train or bike and then leave everything behind, including wrecked tents, to go to landfill really any 'greener' than people who go by car and take everything home with them, including damaged tents to be repaired for next time?

If they also car-share I guess that cuts the emissions down even further.

I really do doubt whether those cycling there from long distances would leave their tents and equipment behind after them. I have no statistics to prove this, but I did notice how completely litter free their field was in 2011, and that was after a lot of people had obviously already left the site from that area.