Utility Cycling - Drive-up teller window at the bank?

So, I'm about to go out and run some errands this afternoon and among them are depositing a check at my own bank and depositing a check for my father at his bank. After that, going for groceries at one store and produce at a second. That means locking up my bike and lifting off the panniers four times, when it would be a helluva lot more convenient at the banks to go through the drive-up teller window. Does anyone do this? I thought I might try it and just see what they say. :D

I have, no problem, some banks may be different though. I have heard of trouble at drive-throughs from other people.

I would call ahead to check.

Well, I figured I'd try it and if they balked I'd just go in. Worst they could do was say no, right? So I did, and lo and behold, the drive-up teller lady seemed amused! She kind of knows me, since I frequent that particular branch, which may have helped. "I always like it when someone does something new," she said. Hey, got my business done quite conveniently and possibly brightened someone's day. Everybody wins. :D

Lots of people have posted that they got told not to bike through the drive through. One recent poster said the bank told him he had to use the lobby, so he rode into the lobby.

That's lame. It's a vehicle according to the law, so what's the reasoning behind prohibiting drive-up use?

That's lame. It's a vehicle according to the law, so what's the reasoning behind prohibiting drive-up use?

That law applies on the public roads. The bank window is on private property so they can impose arbitrary and stupid rules.

Aren't drive-through banks uncomfortable enough in cars? I can't imagine waiting in line at a drive-thru bank on a bike! When I first moved to the US from Canada, I'd never seen one before. I found them rather amusing, but I never use them. If I have to go to the bank, I prefer to get out of or off of my conveyance and walk inside.

One recent poster said the bank told him he had to use the lobby, so he rode into the lobby.

I missed that one. Very funny.

Aren't drive-through banks uncomfortable enough in cars? I can't imagine waiting in line at a drive-thru bank on a bike! When I first moved to the US from Canada, I'd never seen one before. I found them rather amusing, but I never use them. If I have to go to the bank, I prefer to get out of or off of my conveyance and walk inside.

My problem is that I have to lock up the bike, take off the panniers and carry them inside all just to deposit one check. Kind of a pain in the @$$.

If I have to go to the bank, I prefer to get out of or off of my conveyance and walk inside.

In a car, I agree. I HATE drive throughs in a car.

However, if I were on a bike, fully loaded, I'd rather ride through. First off, riding through the drive through uses no additional fossil fuels, unlike idling in the drive through. (And, things usually go juuust fast enough that you can't really shut down the car.) And, the fully loaded part, as has already been pointed out... do you really want to unload EVERYTHING?

My problem is that I have to lock up the bike, take off the panniers and carry them inside all just to deposit one check. Kind of a pain in the @$$.

Lots of banks (here, at least) have ATMs facing the sidewalk. I dismount but I don't unload the bike.
My wife doesn't like to deposit cheques via machine, but I have no problem with it.

I like to go in when the lobby's open, but i use he drive-through when the lobby is closed. I had only one teller say I couldn't do it. I told her (truthfully) that they always let me do it at the main office, and other tellers at the local branch let me do it too. She nicely waited on me. :)

I wouldn't worry about leaving my stuff on my bike. They have security cameras all over the place. The only place safer would probably be the police station!

Lots of people have posted that they got told not to bike through the drive through. One recent poster said the bank told him he had to use the lobby, so he rode into the lobby.
:roflmao:

i am the drive up teller at the bank and the reason my bank doesn't allow people not in cars be it walking or bike or otherwise is from what i've been told insurance reasons. so far i've been working here since february and one guy on a mtb came up and he asked if he could do his transaction and i let him. i did see a roadie go to the drive up atm one other time.

of course i'm going to make it easier for my fellow cyclists and allow it.

on a sidenote my bank (HSBC) is having a "green campaign" and my manager asked us (the "team") to come up with ideas for the bank to go green. i said shut down the drive up, and she took it as a joke.

OK, insurance/liability reasons. If that were the case, why allow bikes in the parking lot at all? Why allow people to walk from their cars to the door. across the "dangerous" parking lot?

i know it's stupid but that's just what they told me. my bank is part of an outdoor shopping center so i guess the drive up is our territory and the rest of the parking lot is every man/woman for themself

I have an ATM that acts as a bank (via computer screen) it is in the wall of a strip mall.
Buy stamps even.

I don't use the drive thru. It keeps me from visiting those places. I spend , eat, and shop less. I think of it as a detterant.

I go through bank drive up, fast food joint for wifes food, and drive up to pick up wifes pills, never give it a thought, cars all been good behind me and in front of me.
The general attitude toward bikes has improved to a point I almost feel like royalty on my bike. I am sure it's gas price related.

I know there are butt heads out there, I just keep missing them up to date.

I ride up to the teller window all the time. I do make sure I'm dressed like regular people, clean shirt and recently shaven, and before I even get around the corner where they can see me I hook my sunglasses on my shirt collar. Then I put on my friendly face and say "Hello!" before they can even react. (friendly face + sunglasses = Jack Nicholson) My check is out and ready to go before I get up to the window. Don't give them a chance to think about it; act like it's a routine, like you get away with this kind of thing all the time! If they follow your lead the first two or three times, you'll have them trained after that.

I ride up to the teller window all the time. I do make sure I'm dressed like regular people, clean shirt and recently shaven, and before I even get around the corner where they can see me I hook my sunglasses on my shirt collar. Then I put on my friendly face and say "Hello!" before they can even react. (friendly face + sunglasses = Jack Nicholson) My check is out and ready to go before I get up to the window. Don't give them a chance to think about it; act like it's a routine, like you get away with this kind of thing all the time! If they follow your lead the first two or three times, you'll have them trained after that.
Wow, you sure go to a lot of trouble to go to a drive through teller window. Just ride through as you are, you are not applying for a job or asking for a date.

those banks who demand I not use the drive thru. ok, I will be happy to ride inside on my bike, gross out your customers and drip on your floor.

i am the drive up teller at the bank and the reason my bank doesn't allow people not in cars be it walking or bike or otherwise is from what i've been told insurance reasons. so far i've been working here since february and one guy on a mtb came up and he asked if he could do his transaction and i let him. i did see a roadie go to the drive up atm one other time.

of course i'm going to make it easier for my fellow cyclists and allow it.

on a sidenote my bank (HSBC) is having a "green campaign" and my manager asked us (the "team") to come up with ideas for the bank to go green. i said shut down the drive up, and she took it as a joke.
Glad to see we have someone on the "inside" :roflmao: Around here the trend has been to put all of the ATM's in the drive thu area. I have no choice but to use the drive thru. Quite often I am driving my large truck with the equipment trailer, and there is NO WAY it is going to fit thru the drive thru, so I walk up to them. So far I have yet to be told not to use the drive thru...

Aaron:)

on a sidenote my bank (HSBC) is having a "green campaign" and my manager asked us (the "team") to come up with ideas for the bank to go green. i said shut down the drive up, and she took it as a joke.

Those drive up windows, are real pollution generators, each car is there for several minutes, nobody shuts the engine down, there are probably 2-3 cars lined up, at all times, those are also with the engine running, so it's like 3-4 cars sitting idling in one place all day. Most drive up windows are open to the interior of the building, and unlike commercial and industrial buildings with vehicles permitted inside, banks and fast food places are not required to have CO detector alarms or extra ventilation. So, you have staff inside the building exposed to automobile exhaust all day, that is a workplace health and safety issue. If drive ups were required to have CO alarms, be isolated from the rest of the building, with positive pressure ventilation (pump air in from another source, so the air pressure inside is slightly higher then outside,so that exhaust is blown away, rather then allowed to enter the window, 99% of them would be closed, as too expensive to maintain, and that would be a good thing. ATMs are a solution for banks, but what about the local Mickey D's?????

Wogsterca,
Good point on the CO issue. IIRC there was an attempt in the Phoenix area to ban the use of drive thru's especially in the summer months due to the amount of pollution being generated and the contribution to the smog and overall air quality. I suspect that the tellers at banks are less likely to have problems with CO than at say a fast food joint. Most bank drive ins that I have seen have the closed drawers or the tube system. I would hope that they take the pollution in to account when they design the durned things, but I wouldn't bet on it. My ex used to teach at a school, when it was brand new it had some serious air quality issues, seems the main air intakes were on the side towards the freeway...DOH! after they relocated them to the opposite side of the campus the air quality improved quite a bit.

Aaron:)

Wow, you sure go to a lot of trouble to go to a drive through teller window. Just ride through as you are, you are not applying for a job or asking for a date.
Clean and confident works for all of the above. I just make my bank stop at the start of my running around, and that takes care of the clean part. Being nice to people is a very useful habit. ahem... ;)
It's a whole lot less work than locking up across the street, and lugging all my loose stuff in to the bank. And they smile when they see me coming, chat a bit, and even say hi if they see me in the grocery store. Makes it a fun stop.

Clean and confident works for all of the above. I just make my bank stop at the start of my running around, and that takes care of the clean part. Being nice to people is a very useful habit. ahem... ;)
It's a whole lot less work than locking up across the street, and lugging all my loose stuff in to the bank. And they smile when they see me coming, chat a bit, and even say hi if they see me in the grocery store. Makes it a fun stop.
Ahem yourself: "I do make sure I'm dressed like regular people, clean shirt and recently shaven, and before I even get around the corner where they can see me I hook my sunglasses on my shirt collar." Clean and confident is one thing; dressing up and primping to go through a drive in window is another.

Lots of people have posted that they got told not to bike through the drive through. One recent poster said the bank told him he had to use the lobby, so he rode into the lobby.
I've used drive-through ATM's, and even a few drive through tellers, on my bike several times without incident. I've even ridden through the drive-through at Starbucks, also with no problem. (But then you have to ride your bike and drink coffee at the same time, which, believe me, is not something you'll do twice.) I'd stop doing business with people who gave me a hard time about it, though.

I do not have to worry about dealing with live drive up bank tellers since all the local banks in my area went to ATM drive ups over ten years ago. I just pull up to the ATM just like I was in a car, or I park my bike next to me when I am at a bank's ATM lobby. Now that the local ATMs can make check or cash deposits without envelopes, threre's no more having to dig through the back pack for a pen.

That law applies on the public roads. The bank window is on private property so they can impose arbitrary and stupid rules.

Not exactly, banks are federally subsidized and are subject to special rights and obligations. You can legally lie to the clerk at McDonalds, but it's a federal offense to lie on your mortgage application. Likewise, a bank's charter ("banking license" so to speak) is usually contingent on them serving members of the community. Turning away members of the community based on their mode of transportation could be a violation of the bank's charter. If this happens to anyone you might want to report the bank to the OTS, OCC, or whatever their particular regulating agency happens to be. Although, I've found that just the threat of being reported to the regulators is enough to scare most banks into compliance.

Not exactly, banks are federally subsidized and are subject to special rights and obligations. You can legally lie to the clerk at McDonalds, but it's a federal offense to lie on your mortgage application. Likewise, a bank's charter ("banking license" so to speak) is usually contingent on them serving members of the community. Turning away members of the community based on their mode of transportation could be a violation of the bank's charter. If this happens to anyone you might want to report the bank to the OTS, OCC, or whatever their particular regulating agency happens to be. Although, I've found that just the threat of being reported to the regulators is enough to scare most banks into compliance.
Oh Brother!:rolleyes:

If anybody tries this "threat" to force their bank's special obligation to gain their special right to use a drive up window on a bike, please report the response here.

My pet peeve about drive-thru tellers and ATMs is that they are useful only for the driver of the vehicle. The only way the passenger can use one is if the car goes through backwards, and they really hate that! This just shows how rare it is to even have more than one person in a big motor vehicle.

My pet peeve about drive-thru tellers and ATMs is that they are useful only for the driver of the vehicle. The only way the passenger can use one is if the car goes through backwards, and they really hate that! This just shows how rare it is to even have more than one person in a big motor vehicle.

I find it amusing that the drive-up teller machines have braille on the buttons so that blind drivers can use them. :rolleyes: (I actually know that this is mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act.)

I find it amusing that the drive-up teller machines have braille on the buttons so that blind drivers can use them. :rolleyes: (I actually know that this is mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act.)

I always wondered about that, but considering that in NC at something like 100,000 driver's licenses were issued using questionable or down right fake documentation it would not be a far stretch to believe that there are some blind drivers too:eek: :rolleyes: :p

Aaron:)

I can't speak for all banks, and not even all my local banks, but a teller at one I frequent (near the Interurban Trail in Kent) has told me that that branch (WaMu) is very happy to accomodate cyclists who wish to use the drive through. I've always taken my bike inside with me in that branch, with no problems ever.

East Hill

I find it amusing that the drive-up teller machines have braille on the buttons so that blind drivers can use them. :rolleyes: (I actually know that this is mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act.)


I would imagine it is likely that this is also due to the fact that the same ATM's built for walk up use are also used at drive throughs.

-D

I've gone through bank & fast food windows innumerable times - no issues. once i was told not to go through again by the window person at a Wendy's. I asked for her to double-check with her manager, as i was a frequent customer (99c 44oz drinks!). the manager came up and said come through any time! :)
cheers

I prefer the lobby myself. It breaks from the auto-life style. You get to talk to the teller face to face. In addition, the branch I go into has a water cooler and I usually help myself to a coupld of cups of the liquid stuff.

I would imagine it is likely that this is also due to the fact that the same ATM's built for walk up use are also used at drive throughs.

-D

And, the person doing the transaction could be sitting in the back seat.

That law applies on the public roads. The bank window is on private property so they can impose arbitrary and stupid rules.


Really? Can they just discriminate at random?
I don't think so.

Really? Can they just discriminate at random?
I don't think so.
They can't discriminate against members of a 'protected class' like race, religion, sex, etc. But I think they have a right to say where certain vehicles are allowed on their property. I'm not saying it is right, just that they have a right.

And, they CAN discriminate against protected classes. They just have to lie about why.

"I don't like you" is reason enough.

They can't discriminate against members of a 'protected class' like race, religion, sex, etc. But I think they have a right to say where certain vehicles are allowed on their property. I'm not saying it is right, just that they have a right.

Ahh gotcha... it's arbitrary.

I was just using the drive up window at my local Walgreen's (drug store) to pick up some allergy medicine. I was on the xtracycle with my kids both fast asleep in the burley trailer behind me. If I had parked to bike to wake them up and go in there would have been hell to pay. Instead i rode up, did my transaction, and left all while they slept. The pharmacist was amused and didn't balk at my bike. Maybe it's just that I live in a more bike friendly town?

Jon

I was just using the drive up window at my local Walgreen's (drug store) to pick up some allergy medicine. I was on the xtracycle with my kids both fast asleep in the burley trailer behind me. If I had parked to bike to wake them up and go in there would have been hell to pay. Instead i rode up, did my transaction, and left all while they slept. The pharmacist was amused and didn't balk at my bike. Maybe it's just that I live in a more bike friendly town?

Jon
Don't forget, the OP was only speculating about a problem he heard about. I don't doubt someone, somewhere had a problem using a bike in a drive-up lane, but actual problems for real live bicyclists seem to be mostly a lot of rhetoric about urban legends and/or isolated incidents.

Don't forget, the OP was only speculating about a problem he heard about. I don't doubt someone, somewhere had a problem using a bike in a drive-up lane, but actual problems for real live bicyclists seem to be mostly a lot of rhetoric about urban legends and/or isolated incidents.
You're right and you're wrong. I agree that MOST problems are over blown. But there really are a lot of places that don't let you use the drive thru. I know most fast food places don't, around here and according to forum posts in many other places as well. Banks and pharmacies I've never had a problem with, however (other than tiny incident I mentioned earlier).

You're right and you're wrong. I agree that MOST problems are over blown. But there really are a lot of places that don't let you use the drive thru. I know most fast food places don't, around here and according to forum posts in many other places as well. Banks and pharmacies I've never had a problem with, however (other than tiny incident I mentioned earlier).
I'll take your word for it that a lot of fast food places don't serve bicyclists in the drive thru. But I seriously doubt that many cyclists could care less, or that many cyclists would even think to use a drive thru since it is usually far more convenient and pleasant to go inside rather than wait in a line of cars with their engines and air conditioning running. And I'd be interested if any of those shops that only have drive thru service actually turn customers away.

As far as forum posts on the hot button issue, most that I have read are mostly polemics based on reports of somebody, somewhere having been slighted, rather than any response to a personal experience.

I ride up to the drive up ATM if the bank is closed. I have even walked up to do some Saturday banking.
A guy in a car behind me told me I couldn't walk up to the drive up.
I asked him if I could borrow his car for 5 minutes. He declined, laughed and didn't bother me again. Quick wit and common sense prevailed!

I'll take your word for it that a lot of fast food places don't serve bicyclists in the drive thru. But I seriously doubt that many cyclists could care less, or that many cyclists would even think to use a drive thru since it is usually far more convenient and pleasant to go inside rather than wait in a line of cars with their engines and air conditioning running. And I'd be interested if any of those shops that only have drive thru service actually turn customers away.

As far as forum posts on the hot button issue, most that I have read are mostly polemics based on reports of somebody, somewhere having been slighted, rather than any response to a personal experience.

Why would I want to go through the Mickey D's drive up window, when there is a bike rack right outside the front door???? About 5-6 years ago, the city passed a law, that new commercial developments need to provide bicycle parking, the nearest Mickey D's to me, was built after the new law was passed, so there are 5 bike spaces outside the front door. In the same complex, is a Blockbuster (4 bike spaces), a Boston Pizza (2 spaces) and a variety store (no spaces). So within 500 m² are no fewer then 11 bike spaces. A fairly new Great Canadian Superstore has about 20 bike spaces, all near the doors, usually see 3-4 bikes in the racks at any given time. While a much older Highland Farms and even older Dominion store have no official spaces. Guess where the cyclists shop?

Now, when I go to the bank ATM, I take my bike inside with me, nobody has ever said anything to me, and if they did, I would be calling a higher up in the bank that I know (they don't know that I know this person), and tell them about it. Drive up bank windows, are not popular here in Canada, and many branches are in older plazas where it would be prohibitively expensive to install such a thing. Now bicycle parking is very cheap to install, heck a couple of lengths of iron pipe, a couple of elbows and a bag of cement will do a nice enough job.

For many other businesses, they simply don't think about it, I was talking to the owner of a small business last week, and told him, that he could catch ride-by traffic but installing bicycle parking, he thought it was a great idea, whether it will happen or not, I don't know.

Why would I want to go through the Mickey D's drive up window, when there is a bike rack right outside the front door????

I don't know about you, but for me it can be convenient to avoid locking and unlocking my bike. If my bike is loaded down with stuff, my brain is occupied with other concerns, and i seem to have forgotten where in all of my belongings the keys have gotten to, i'd just as soon not lock up 'til I go home.

And yes, that was my actual situation today at the grocery store but I sucked it up and went to find the keys because I didn't want to bring the bike into the grocery store.