Advocacy & Safety - Houston Metro buses will have bike racks

Hey everyone! I have awesome news. I sent an email (months ago) to Sandra Aponte Salazar, part of the
the Houston Metro department. I complained about not having bike racks on the METRO buses. She sent me a response today:

My email that she replied to:
Name: Jason [view details] Title:
Email: ******@yahoo.com Association: college student
Contact Notes: [edit notes]
Inquiry:
I have a folding bike that I brought with me to head to my college campus. The bus driver said I could not ride with my folding bike. She posed no other alternative other than to stop riding my bike and start riding the bus!!!

This is unfair. Other states like San Diego and Pittsburgh, to name a few, have racks in their buses for bikes.

Houston has one of the worst pollutions in the U.S. Although METRO has implemented their HYBRID buses, they have yet to solve the dilemma of bikes. Alot of bus riders commute not only by foot but by bicycles.

Metro should implement bike racks right away. We are lagging behind with the other states.

Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,
Jason


Dear Jason Paez-

Thank you for your message regarding the incident with your folding bike.

I had delayed responding your letter because I was aware of discussions within METRO about having bike racks on buses and I did not want to respond until I knew for certain when the plan was going to take effect.

Like you, other bicycle enthusiasts had been asking METRO to accommodate bicycles on board our buses. METRO staff has been working hard to make this happen, and now we are closer than ever to make this come true.

The attached is an invitation to news conference to kick-off the program. More information will become available at that time. If you are unable to attend the event, a news release will be posted online with all the other news releases.



Thanks again for bringing this up to our attention.



Sincerely,

Sandra Aponte Salazar

Communications Supervisor

ss35@ridemetro.org

713.739.4694

832.217.9105


Here is the flier Sandra Aponte Salazar attached!!
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w122/corazon21/metro.jpg


The meeting of putting bike racks on the bus will be this Friday, April 20th 2007; 1900 Main St. (in the lobby), Houston TX 77002; 11:30am-1pm.

This issue is looong overdue but I hope and pray this time around something is going to happen.

Ok, some of you might not live in Houston but it would be really cool to see you guys there and support us! hahaha:)

Good for you. Sounds like you and other cyclists who thought to voice their concerns made this happen. Awesome to see.

What about the folding bike issue? Are you going to have to bring a bag from now on?

See you Downtown on Friday, Jason !!!

Awesome! I'll try to be there If I can get off!
kjmillig in Sugar Land

Does anyone know how the "store your bikes in the luggage compartment" on the big commuter busses works? Do you just throw your bike under there or do they have some kind of rack?

But... your bike is a FOLDING bike. What kind of folding bike is it? Most transit systems allow those on board as long as they fold reasonably compactly.

But... your bike is a FOLDING bike. What kind of folding bike is it? Most transit systems allow those on board as long as they fold reasonably compactly.

... and many folding bikes do not fit well on racks.

Chinotex,

There is a forward luggage compartment reserved for bikes on the big park and ride busses. You just chuck the bike in there and go.

But... your bike is a FOLDING bike. What kind of folding bike is it? Most transit systems allow those on board as long as they fold reasonably compactly.

The package is probably too big and once the bus gets packed, folder or not, you will not be allowed to board. In many transit systems, a large package is just not allowed.

Check out this thread (http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread.php?t=412853) I just started. It has a link to a YouTube video on how to use the racks. (Assuming they are are the same as we have here, which I don't know.)

Bus bicycle racks are awesome. It makes busing much more efficient and flexible. It also works sometimes as a bailout option (raining, flat tire etc)