MISCELLANEOUS

All Miscellaneous items.

What is the procedure for taking bicycles on Vovlo’s ?

It is possible to load your bike in the volvo, the luggage compartment is sufficiently large.

Things you need to take care of before loading your bike.

Be aware about the attitude of the bus conductor and driver.
They will EXPECT you to tip them, in addition to the luggage ticket money :-()
Use your discretion in tipping them (sometimes these guys expect upto Rs 150 a bike). This tip kinda ensures your bike is not mishandled.

Luggage charges will apply as per distance. So, better find out from KSRTC luggage counter.
From Panaji to Bangalore, the charge was 90 INR per cycle

thanks to Priya Ravindranath for this tip

What is the procedure for taking bicycles on trains ?

You can take the bicycle in the luggage car (a.k.a brake Van). Give yourself a good 2 hours time as you might not get the railway staff in time at the last minute. (a link)

Check in advance if the luggage compartment is opened at your destination place. Trains are the safest, cheapest and most hassle free option of transporting a bicycle in India.

You can take your bicycle with you in the compartment. But you have to dismantle the bike & put it into bag.
They will charge 40 kilo for that (Even if your cycle is 10kg still they charge for 40Kgs). There is a dimensional limit for luggage (1m) because of which you would have to go earlier and book it as personal luggage for an extra fee and avoid a hefty fine

You need to check in to the luggage booking office two to three Hrs before the train departure time. There are two ways in Luggage booking office

more train experiences here and here

What is the procedure for taking bicycles on flights ?

Policies differ from airline to airline. Policies on any particular airline also change from time to time. The information given here is only as a guideline and may have changed since being published. Please check with your airline before confirming your plans. If you have updated information, please update this page; you’ll have many others who are grateful for your update.

Airlines will probably refuse to transport your bike unless it is boxed, see section on boxing your bike below.

In recent times, airlines have tried to squeeze as much money as possible from the transport of luggage. Baggage quotas are down and fees are up. If you show up with a boxed bike to any random airline counter, there is a good chance you’ll be asked to pay for excess baggage depending on whether you are within your quota.

Here is a list of international & domestic airlines known to allow boxed bikes at no additional charge if you are within your baggage limit.

International -

Domestic – link to more details
Thanks to Nitin Gupta for digging up all this info

If you are taking your cycle abroad, it is advised to register it with the customs before your outbound flight. This will avoid hassle with the customs on your return. The certificate of declaration you receive from the customs should be valid for 3 years. Source
Note that at Bangalore International Airport, the customs office where you’ll have to declare your bike is after the immigration. You’ll have to take the bike up to the office, declare it and bring it back down for the check-in. Source

IMPORTANT Many bikers have experienced ignorant airline employees who demand excess fees in spite of their airline’s bike-friendly policies. For this reason, it is advisable to print and carry the airline’s policy on transporting bicycles from the airline’s website before leaving to the airport. When faced with an ignorant demand, you can show them their own policy in print.

How do I pack my bicycle if I need to take it on a train/bus/flight ?

The technical term is – Boxing a bicycle. Google should pull up 100s of results if you search for this term.
Some that we liked

Another alternative is a soft bag such as the Tardis