Living Car Free - Should Bike Security Be A Personal Choice Or Should It Be A Public Option?

http://www.mbta.com/riding_the_t/bikes/ (http://www.mbta.com/riding_the_t/bikes/)

http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO88537/ (http://www3.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO88537/)

The old "Bike Cages" seem to be coming back in vogue. I remember using one at my old school back in the early 1970s. In those days, they did offer a good option against casual theft. I am not sure that it could still be done in this sort of world. A school environment is still more controlled than a public ever changing faces sort of places that public transit is. I guess nothing could be more surer than keeping your valuables next to you, or at least having a manned (with a live security guard & even a dog) secure perimeter as a bike cage is supposed to be.

Doesn't look like they're manned, but having the security cameras and coded access cards should make it a lot safer than the regular bike racks where anyone can walk up unobserved.

The problem I have with that program is too-easy access to the cards. A thief could easily mime frustration with non-working keys, come back in five minutes with his favorite tool, and defeat the whole process.

Now, to the question....

Bike security IS a personal decision; it also carries personal consequences. Public option? Generous kindness on the part of the 'public'. At least show some love and appreciation by TRYING it. Kind of a moral obligation.

I just don't trust leaving anything that costs more than a days wage out of my sight in a somewhat public place. On our city transit buses, they have bike racks on the front so you take your bike with you on the bus. That makes a lot more sense to me.

I'm sure that train stations are required by law to provide free parking for cars. They should have to require it for bikes also.

(Funny how you never hear Republicans argue against the government requiring free car parking, just like they don't object to government mandated auto insurance. But when government requires bike parking or health insurance, it's an intrusion on individual rights.)

I just don't trust leaving anything that costs more than a days wage out of my sight in a somewhat public place. On our city transit buses, they have bike racks on the front so you take your bike with you on the bus. That makes a lot more sense to me.

What do you do when the racks on the bus are already full?

I'm sure that train stations are required by law to provide free parking for cars. They should have to require it for bikes also.

(Funny how you never hear Republicans argue against the government requiring free car parking, just like they don't object to government mandated auto insurance. But when government requires bike parking or health insurance, it's an intrusion on individual rights.)

Mainly cuz the Repubs don't believe bicycles are transportation -- check the story about the Repub reaction to the LaHood announcement (sorry, can't link it).

What do you do when the racks on the bus are already full?

I don't think I've ever seen more than one bike on the rack. My wife has used the racks on the train many times and has never had a problem. If the racks were already full, I would think she'd wait 10 minutes for the next one to come along.

I don't think I've ever seen more than one bike on the rack.

In Portland, where every bus equipped with 2 racks, it sometimes is a problem to find an empty rack. I found this out recently on a frequent service line, after a mechanical failure. After an hour wait, I finally got a rack and a ride.

Secure and available parking is an important part to getting more folks out of their cars and onto bikes. But bike corrals that have been installed in certain neighborhoods have proven to be attractors of business. The coffee shop or the theater that has a corral in front finds business improves greatly. Even a corral with secure staple racks, not very high tech, will draw much use. I don't believe you have to make it too complicated.

I don't think I've ever seen more than one bike on the rack. My wife has used the racks on the train many times and has never had a problem. If the racks were already full, I would think she'd wait 10 minutes for the next one to come along.

Ought to see the ones around Charleston, SC! Buses run on the half hour, it is not unusual to see 3 or 4 buses in a row come by with full racks. I got caught a while back in the downtown area when the next to last bus leaving had full racks, so I started riding my bike the 14 miles back to where I stay, I caught up to the earlier bus at about the 8 mile mark and the rack was empty, so I was able to get on that one.

To me the only sure bet for a bus and a bicycle is to get a folder you can bag in a hurry so you can be sure of getting a ride.

Aaron :)

I have honestly seen one bike on our city's bus racks in the last three years I've been here.
But to be fair there really would never be much of a reason for anyone to use them here.

Ought to see the ones around Charleston, SC! Buses run on the half hour, it is not unusual to see 3 or 4 buses in a row come by with full racks. I got caught a while back in the downtown area when the next to last bus leaving had full racks, so I started riding my bike the 14 miles back to where I stay, I caught up to the earlier bus at about the 8 mile mark and the rack was empty, so I was able to get on that one.

To me the only sure bet for a bus and a bicycle is to get a folder you can bag in a hurry so you can be sure of getting a ride.

Aaron :)

That's the way it is here in Lansing also. the racks are often full--and now I've even seen them full in the winter a couple times!