Justen

Hi there,

I am wondering how many other cities allow bikes on transit vehicles ?

We have dozens of bus routes here whereby the buses are outfitted with bike racks on the front for two bikes. Our Seabus also allows bikes on it but not the Skytrain.

Anyway, just wondering which other places have this system.

BTW...it does not cost anything extra to put your bike on the bus. I should clarify that I usually do this when I want to go and cycle in another city...not locally...I am not that lazy !:-)

Justen

Spire

Most commuter trains will allow bikes at off peak hours. The Montreal Metro system also allows bikes off peak, I think it is same for New York City, but I'm not sure.

mtnbiker74

In Cleveland you are allowed to take your bike on the bus (they have supplied bike racks on the front of the bus) and you can take it on the rapid transit (train). Not enough people use the racks on the buses, I have yet to see a bike on one of those..

rhoderhage

Here in Rhode Island I would say just about all buses have the Sportworks spring arm Bike racks out front. The racks carry 2 bikes at a time. Most bus drivers will let you bring the bike on in the back if the bus is not too crowded or if there are 2 bikes in front already. We also have a Providence-Newport Ferry that operates in the summer and I believe bikes are allowed on that as well. It seems that the long distance bus companies here like Bonanza Bus (RI) and Concord Trailways (NH) allow you to transport bikes as long as there is room. The MBTA Commuter Rail that runs between Providence and Boston also allows bikes. Below is link for our State Wide bus service https://www.ripta.com

RIPTA Rack N' Ride Program

Raiyn

All of the buses in the Tampa / St. Petersburg area have the Sportworks racks. A permit is needed to use them, but all you need to do is watch a quick video and demonstrate that you're able to operate the rack. Something a chimp could handle. Or a gorilla like ChrisL

closetbiker

Vancouver area has a bike on bus program

khuon

Seattle has has a long tradition of supplying bike-rack capable busses. As a matter of fact it was King County's Metro that really helped launch Sportworks. More information about bikes and Metro's transit system can be found at https://transit.metrokc.gov/tops/bike/bike.html

Justen

Hi Closetbiker,

Yep...those are the buses. Very handy !
Have you ever used the racks ?
I have many times - but have noticed that a great deal of the time, the racks are empty.

Justen

closetbiker

I thought I might before they were installed, but I always get there faster on the bike, so I never have.

They're usually empty but the cost of them is small.

Justen

Actually, for the B-Line buses that go down Broadway (the 99) you're right. I have gone many times from Main down to Alma and beat the B-Line there pretty well everytime. If I am having trouble with my Asthma or get a bike flat or whatever, I will just put my bike in the rack and go to the nearest hospital or bike shop (whichever is relevant). Very handy ! :-)

Justen

Guest

Chicago has a bike and ride for public transit, except for that during rush hour on weekdays, you cannot take your bike on the train. If you've ever been on a train in Chicago during rush hour, you would understand why. It's terrible!

They have started installing bike racks on some of the buses. Previously, only the 63rd Street buses and the North Avenue buses had bike racks. But the Mayor gave enough money to the public transit so they could install bike racks on all buses. We found out at the Chicago Bike Show that all buses will be equipped with racks by the end of the year. There are about a bazillion routes, so good luck to them.... there should be a picture of the Chicago Bike Show I took where you can see the CTA bus and look at how the racks are on the bus.

All PACE buses have the racks installed already, so if you can stand the long @ssed commute to the suburbs via PACE, you can bypass the Metra trains altogether. No thanks!

Unfortunately, you cannot take your bike on any of the Metra routes yet. Hopefully, this will change soon when they see how successful the CTA program is.

Koffee

Chris L

They're trialling one of those in Brisbane. However, apart from the usual unreliability of Brisbane buses, they also tend to put the buses with racks on different routes each day, meaning that your bus might have a bike rack one day, but not the next. Don't bother asking me why they do this. A cynical person might suggest they want this trial to be a failure so that BCC can get away with not implementing this system permanently.

As far as trains around here go - you can carry your bike on any train in South East Queensland (Gold Coast, Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Ipswich) for free outside of peak commuting hours - guidance of which is available from QR if anybody cares. When I was in Victoria last year they charged me $3 to carry my bike from Melbourne to Geelong. I believe it's the same on all V-Line services in that state.

ngateguy

Yes we are lucky here all the transit systems that serve our are have bike racks. And rumor has it (posted on the Cascade Bike club commuter board) that since the bike racks are so popular (there have been times I have had to wait Downtown for a couple of buses to get me and my bike to Everett) Metro and Sportsworks are working an a rack designed to hold 3 bikes.

Justen

We don't get charged any extra to put the bike on the bus. It is just free. They have racks on most of our non-trolley buses. Apparantly they are planning to put them on all the new trolley buses over the next few years which would be cool but the trolley buses are all local so it wouldn't be much help to me.

I think it's a bit cheeky to not have the bus rack equipped buses on the same route everyday. How could they possibly evaluate it's popularity then ? As you say, they may just not want to put out the dollars to equip all the buses with bike racks.

Justen

Justen

Yep..I consider us pretty lucky to have that service here too. There are certain times that the racks are in heavy use (i.e. on any University or college bound routes in the early AM and 3-5 PM) and from downtown during the rush hour but they typically have buses 3-4 minutes apart during these times so the wait is usually not too bad.

Justen

Pete Clark

Same here in Atlanta, except I see bikes on buses.

The main attraction of bikes on buses is that you can leap from the suburbs to the closer-in, more bike-friendly zones. The buses can take you from the edge of your moat-surrounded suburban neighborhood across the great, high-speed, motorized void to the "grid."

The drawback is that you are confined to the bus schedule. I have found the train faster and more convenient, as I have a depot about 4 1/2 miles from home, accessible by quieter roads.

The more options we have, the better.

ngateguy

We are supposed to be getting a commuter train ( I don't live in the burbs just a small city north of Seattle) here in the fall rumor is that they have bike racks inside every car I hope it is true. It won't be my standard mode but it will be nice on the stormy windy seattle winter days.

ridealot

I use the racks here in Cincinnati for the trip home. Between Memorial day and Labor day the bus cost only $.50. It is agreat way t use the system. I use my mountain bike on the bus. The tires are nice and wide for the rack and there is not much slop then.

Justen

It is unfortunate that more people do not use them. Although they are very heavily used during rush hour, many times, the racks are not being used at all. I very rarely have a problem being able to put my bike on the rack. Even during rush hour, the Express buses run so often - like every 4-5 minutes so it's not too tough to get a bike on. It's funny....many people look almost fascinated as they watch you put your bike on or take it off.

One problem that we have had is with people stealing bikes off the rack. i.e. In one case, a guy with a crappy bike puts it on the rack and gets on the bus. At the next couple of stops, a guy puts a really high end bike on the rack. He goes to the back of the bus and takes a seat. Then Mr. junk bike gets off, takes the other guy's bike and rides off leaving his crappy bike behind. I always sit or stand at the front of the bus so I can see my bike all the time.

Justen

Guest

In Chicago, the CTA warned us of this problem. They strongly advise us to lock our bikes on the bus with a simple u-lock so that when the bus is stopped for long periods of time, your bike doesn't get stolen.

Koffee

willic

We have a Hadrians Wall bus, which tracks as near to the vicinity of the Roman wall as the road can get and turns off into all the towns and villages along its lenght. between Wallsend on the North sea coast to Bowness-on-solway, an inlet of the Irish sea.

It only runs between Easter and end of October for the tourist season. It carries 3 bikes on the external rear rack and room for 2 more inside at no extra charge beyond your passenger fair.

Justen

I don't recall ever seeing a warning about it here but it does make sense. I have put my lock on the bike a few times when I am on one of the buses that has long stop overs. I think a lock would provide some deterrent. How are they going to run off with your bike when they can't ride it, without appearing suspicious ?

Justen

Justen

I don't use the racks that often but it is nice to have relatively easy access to them. I don't have a car so I like being able to just put my bike on a bus and go somewhere different than my usual route and explore on my bike, especially near beaches. Sometimes the weather here can change very quickly too. Although I usually dress for the conditions, if we get deluged with rain and I am far from home, I will just put my bike on the bus instead of risking my safety amongst drivers with less visibility.

We have pretty decent bus service here overall but it would be nice if some of the buses ran a little more often.

Justen

nathank

Portland OR has the 2-bike racks on busses - and although i haven't been there in a while - they were often full, which can be a problem during commuting hours.

bikes also allowed on transit, including light rail, including DURING Rush Hour.

no charge for bikes, but as Raiyn said you have to get a permit which costs $5 and requires you to watch a video how to use the racks and what to do and not do (so you don't slow down the bus or endanger yourself or others or annoy the bus drivers not knowing what to do)

- just for comparision - in Munich it costs extra to take you bike on trains, subways and trams and they're not allowed on busses. in subways and trams not allowed during commuting hours (7-9am and 4-6pm). Munich's transit system is excellent and i think the lack of bike/transit coordination is pretty much the biggest weakness and area to improve (other than buying more trains so less crowded). but on the other hand, during commuting hours the subways are crammed so full that i see why they don't allow bikes (they need more subways, and even though they continu to buy more they are always behind). many people here ride bikes TO the transit stop and then the transit is so good you are very close to your destination (work, school, shopping, etc) so it works pretty well.

Guest

The thing about running off with your bike is that when there's a bunch of people getting on the bus, it is soooooooooo easy for someone to stroll up while people are getting on and just lift it off and keep on rolling. No one would be suspicious- it's not up to the driver to keep an eye on your bike, and they may not even know who owns the bike. They aren't trained to carefully watch you as you put your bike on the bus- the CTA representatives were very careful to state this to us, and they strongly encouraged us to lock your bike when you put it on the bus.

The good thing is that they don't charge us extra to bring our bikes on the buses or trains. Whew!

Koffee