Walkafire

Ok I tried this...

I was sooooo tired after work yesterday (working on 2 hrs sleep), I decided to throw the bike on a local bus. Now mind you, they have Bike Racks on the front of these monsters. BUT... They were full, the driver says I can put my bike underneath in one of those compartments. Wow no problem, lots of space. Well... after a couple of stops, the bus picked up a few other Bike Riders as well. When I got to my Stop, another bike rider got off as well. Seems his bike was on top of mine. My chain had popped off the front sprockets, and I managed to lose a cap on one of my bars.

Good thing I have a OLD bike, I would have been pissed iffin it was worth anything. Guess it's worth something to me, I ride it everyday.


Does anyone else use this type of Commuting...?

jamesdenver

was this the big RTD express/regional busses? i know what you mean, they are as big as greyhounds with large underneath storage. comfy and large on inside

i'd be irritated too. seems like they could use more the one compartment, (they do for airport luggage). i would never put my bike on top of of anothers, maybe just an ill-informed rider.

i use the bike racks all the time and never had problems

Walkafire

Yeah , it was the RTD "BOLT" from Boulder to Longmont.
Your right, the more I think about it, he should have rode. he got on at Niwot and got off at the 1st stop in Longmont. (about 2-3 miles) grrrrrrrrrrrr

geeklpc1985

I tryed it once, I got within 5 miles of my house and found out that the bus does not run by my house from 10:30 to 1:30. I was glad I had my bike, but the only way to get home is to go up this hill, this hill is a mile long that goes up about 100 ft. Also I found out that my bike was a little long to fit in the rack. When I get a new touring bike I guess that it will not fit in those racks. Also when getting to that spot one of the busses racks was stuck and all he said was sorry can't help ya, next bus is will be there in an hour.

GEEK

Dahon.Steve

Folks. Did anyone ever hear of a folding bike?

I don't know your situation but I've had SUCCESS taking the folder INSIDE the cabin of the bus that had no racks. Yes, I did it and survived the looks and stares of other passengers. It might not be acceptable during rush hour but I suspect you would have similar success. Look around the cabin of your bus and see if there's any place to put a folder. If there is, the solution is simple.

super-douper

when I don't ride I use either bus or light rail or both. 'round here there aren't very many people who ride bikes, so usually I'm the only one on the bus with a bike. Thats good because there's only room for 2 on each bus. The light rail seems to have more bikes, there's almost always at least 1 more next to mine.

One thing about the bus that's puzzling to me is the people who do what you say. Ride distances that they could walk/bike faster than waiting for and taking the bus. Just this morning I saw a guy get on the bus and ride exactly one stop. He had barely had time to sit down before he's ringing the "STOP REQUESTED" bell. maybe 1/4 mile. I don't get it. wierd. Sometimes I even see people get on, pay $1.75 then ride for 1 - 2 miles. I'm neither rich nor poor, but i wouldn't pay $1.75 to go 1 or 2 miles.

What has convinced the public that their feet are no good for distances over 1/2 mile?

jamesdenver

my pet peeve too -- i like riding the express busses, they only stop at park and rides and transfer points- you can relax, read, etc

in the morning the local stops at EVERY stop - with people getting on and off within blocks of each other. if my stop is a block away i just get off earlier to save people time.

most annoying: in denver the bus system carries high school kids across town for reasons i'm not sure of. i.e. kids in north denver travel to a school in southeast denver. anyway it's crowded, they're loud, and it's not a pleasant experience.

Dahon.Steve

[QUOTE=super-douper
One thing about the bus that's puzzling to me is the people who do what you say. Ride distances that they could walk/bike faster than waiting for and taking the bus. Just this morning I saw a guy get on the bus and ride exactly one stop. He had barely had time to sit down before he's ringing the "STOP REQUESTED" bell. maybe 1/4 mile. I don't get it. wierd. Sometimes I even see people get on, pay $1.75 then ride for 1 - 2 miles. I'm neither rich nor poor, but i wouldn't pay $1.75 to go 1 or 2 miles.

What has convinced the public that their feet are no good for distances over 1/2 mile?[/QUOTE]

Agreed.

Over the weekend, I visited a mall in the burbs and visited the bus stop for laughs with my bicycle. This mall was almost 60 miles from home and I used a train to do most of the traveling. Needless to say, most of the folks at the bus stop where waiting for close to an HOUR for the bus and were only going 3 to 5 miles. Most of them were young and could not believe how I got to that mall. Seriously. They looked at me like I was crazy.

What really bothered was all the young people at the bus stop. Loads of people in their early 20's just wasting their life at the bus stop when they could have been transportation cyclists. Don't get me wrong, the buses were on time but these people could have been home had they cycled to the mall.

One guy was talking to me about his bus pass saving him loads of money. He told me the pass cost him only $90.00 dollars per month and considered it a bargain. He told me a two zone ride was $2.55 cents and a three zone ride over $3.00 dollars one way! The man told me I should get a bus pass to enjoy the savings. I told him my bike was my bus pass and it was a one time cost of $65.00 dollars!

super-douper

woa, you got a dahon for $65!

noisebeam

The problem is the poor bus schedule combined with poor planning of riders to wait so long - regular riders know the schedule and get to stop a few minutes before the bus. Properly set up busses (Frequent and accurate schedules) are a great way to get around places.
Al

noisebeam

Don't be so quick to judge this guy. Maybe he screwed up and got on the wrong bus, or realized after getting on bus he forgot something and needed to turn around.

I've ridden the bus for lunch 1/2mi each way as I have a bus pass. I know the schedule, leave my desk, hop on bus, get dropped off in front of deli, and return just the same. I walk it too sometimes.

Al

Walkafire

Work paid for my Eco (RTD Bus) Pass. From what I hear, they are pretty $$$$
I guess I can take any RTD Bus on the Front range. Might have to try it to the Airport as well.

There has been a lot more Bikes on the Buses here lately.

super-douper

sure, that could be the case, I don't actually know...but it happens a lot. I see it maybe once or twice a week. I have a pass also provided by my employer, so riding bus and light rail costs me nothing and I would consider riding short distances (1-2 miles) in this heat we've had lately. But this guy paid cash money to ride one stop. Perhaps also he is not as able bodied as he looked.

I'm not trying to judge or assume anything about this guy or any of the other people. We're all different and that's OK. It's more than OK, it's good that we're not all the same

Now that I think about the bus/light rail ride that I take, I could go on for pages about the wierd things I see people do/not do. heh, it's part of the fun of transit! Between the things I see on transit and bike commuting, I have WAY better commuting stories to tell my friends and family (who drive) when we're just sittin chit chattin.

cryogenic

I occasionally commute via bus/bike combined... It's not been a terribly unpleasant experience here. Our buses hold 2 bikes and generally speaking there's never more than one on the bus when it gets to wherever I am. It's only a buck to ride and a monthly pass is only $30. I don't ride 30 times a month, so the monthly pass wouldn't be worth it. Either way, our bus system is actually very good.
Too bad they can't get over the stigma of being exclusively for the poor and/or homeless, full of drunks and winos, etc. First time I rode the bus somewhere, I got back home and my roommate's girlfriend (who lives with us) looked at me and went "go wash your hands, the buses are so incredibly nasty... have you seen the people that ride them? ugh!" Amusingly, the bus I rode was almost brand new and very much in pristine shape. Not surprisingly, she'd never been on a bus in her life.

oh, we do also have express buses that run from downtown out to the park n ride lots on the west side of town (there are two). They've become much more popular as of late. I saw a good 15-18 people on one of them earlier this week. None had bikes, but it was still a nice sight to see. More people using the buses.

Dahon.Steve

I didn't bring my Dahon but a beater I purchased off Ebay. I find myself riding that beater more than my other bikes because it can be left outside a mall without fear of being stolen since it's all scratched.

Dahon.Steve

Incredible.

In New York City, 15-18 people will board a bus at ONE TIME while trying to squeeze into the cabin with 50 people already inside!

Anyway. I'm making a flyer this weekend as a public service to get more people off the bus and onto bicycle transportation. I figure some bold letters as an opener will be important to get attention. Lets see. DON'T RIDE THIS BUS! or THIS BUS CARRIES DISEASES! or STOP WASTING YOUR LIFE! or SAVE $1,000 DOLLARS PER YEAR??

Hummm. The last one sounds like a get rich quick scam. ;-)

hubs

I also can't believe how little walking some bus riders can handle. I'm all for a comprehensive urban transport system ... But, in my neighborhood there is a bus line that runs parallel to another one ... they are only 2, yes TWO, city blocks apart from one another. Talk about wasteful!!! And at least in the middle of the day, neither one is more than 1/3 full.

super-douper

I think a bike is the perfect companion to transit. Gets you to/from the stop quicker and if for some reason the bus doesn't come, just ride!

How about a flyer for car drivers that says "your car might beat my bike to the store by a few minutes, but my bike will beat your car to retirement by years!" That's kind of a get rich slowly scam