One of the great advantages of a Brompton is that public transportation usually becomes much simpler once the bike is folded.

We’ve taken ours on trains, subways, buses, and passenger ferries in a number of countries.  Most of the time, the process is remarkably uneventful: fold the bike, keep it out of everyone’s way, and take it with you.

Rules vary.  Some systems treat a folded bicycle essentially as luggage, while others may require it to be covered or placed in a bag.  Before traveling, we check the rules for that particular train, transit system, or ferry rather than assuming that what worked somewhere else will work there.

Crowds are often more important than the official rules.  A folded Brompton is small, but it is still a fairly substantial object when you are standing in a packed subway car or trying to get onto a busy train.  If things are crowded, we try to position ourselves where the bikes will inconvenience other passengers as little as possible.

Buying tickets can occasionally be the hardest part.  In Keelung, Taiwan, for example, we had an unexpectedly difficult time communicating at the station ticket counter and were very grateful when another cruise passenger who spoke some Mandarin helped us.  Experiences like that are good reminders that even with translation apps, sometimes you simply need to ask for help.

And sometimes the best transportation decision is to abandon the original plan.  If we’re tired, running late, carrying too much, or simply becoming frustrated, we call a taxi or Uber.  There is no prize for completing every journey by public transportation.