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Bus your bike from the rail trail

Riders on the O'Keefe Rail Trail between Heathcote and Bendigo will soon be able to hitch their bikes to a bus and take a ride back to town.

Buses on the Heathcote - Bendigo PTV service will be fitted with bike carriers, allowing people to either ride one direction on the trail and return on the bus, or take the bus from a mid-way point in the case of a bike breakdown or fatigue.

The Heathcote - Bendigo PTV service travels along the McIvor Highway, close to the rail trail. There are a number of stops on the bus route, including at Axedale, roughly in the middle of Heathcote and Bendigo.

Friends of the Bendigo-Kilmore Rail Trail have been campaigning for the bus service to have bike carriers added and Victorian Minister for Public Transport Ben Carroll recently confirmed to them that it would happen.

A date for the buses to start carrying bikes is not confirmed, but may happen before the end of the year.

In April 2016 a one-year trial of bike racks on buses was held, with Bendigo's route 70 from Bendigo Station to Strathfieldsaye one of four services in Victoria to have bus bike racks.

Friends of the Bendigo-Kilmore Rail Trail work tirelessly to improve the already popular O'Keefe Rail Trail and aim to have it extended through to Kilmore. The group of volunteers recently installed a heritage wagon next to the trail at Axedale.

Click here to read more about the Friends of the Bendigo-Kilmore Rail Trail and the O'Keefe Rail Trail.

Click here to see the Heathcote - Bendigo bus service on the PTV website.

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