DiabloScott

I can't picture where that is in the station?

Joe Bikerider

It's not actually in the station. It's on the ground floor of those apartments just south from the station. If you are standing at the ticket vending machines then look south across the bus area.

DiabloScott

Went to SF yesterday and checked this out. Had an early train so I didn't actually use it but there were plenty of BikeLink lockers available because of the rain.

On the return though, I went in and got myself authorized so I can use it next time. Looks pretty nice - you still have to use your own lock, but hopefully the bike thieves won't even get in the building. They can fit a lot more bikes in there than they could bike lockers. There's an ATM kind of machine where you insert your BikeLink card and then an operator somewhere talks to you and takes a photo of your driver license for set-up. After that, the procedure is just like with the lockers - tell the machine how long you expect to be parked there - swipe in, swipe out.

It's a little farther away from the BART entrance than the bike lockers on the west end, but not much.

DiabloScott

OK some actual use comments:

1. You're supposed to have BikeLink stickers on your bike, or they have some temporary tags available. Get the tags from BikeLink.org for $5.
https://www.bikelink.org/stickers/buy I think you get these free with a new BikeLink card, but I don't think mine came with them. I didn't see the temporary ones either - maybe plan on a little extra time if you need those.





2. There's a nice big screen for checking in to parking - much easier to read than the little things on the BikeLink lockers. There's an outdoor card reader to get in the lobby, and then an indoor card reader to check in and out.





3. There's a sign to use the upper racks first if available, saving the easier racks for people who can't lift their bikes that high... I might do that if it looks like it might actually fill up - but there were only a few bikes in there Wednesday morning.



4. There are lots of different kinds of racks for different bikes and different locking systems.




5. Part of the security is that you're supposed to be in and out in less than 10 minutes - or else an alarm or something goes off.

6. The guy in the shop was friendly and helpful and had a custom made lugged steel commuter - no decals, but Rivendellish.

DiabloScott

Yesterday I tried one of the upper-tier pull down racks. It was a little awkward but not difficult. With some practice you could probably get pretty fast at it. You grab the handle and pull and it comes down easily. There's a hook with a lever to hold your front rim in (I suppose you could also put the rear in if you wanted the bike to face the other way. So getting both wheels in the tray, the hook over the rim, and the lock around one of the bars all at the same time is the tricky part. Then you have to pick up the whole thing and slide it back up in the frame - not as bad as lifting your whole bike because you have the handles and the rollers and everything is stable... but it is heavy. It might even be a little easier to use one of these if the place gets crowded because the lower racks are close together and underneath the frame so it might be hard to get your lock on without hitting your head. I think I'll keep using them unless I'm in a hurry.



I also noticed that the lights are on motion sensors so it's nice and bright when you're in there, but very dark when unoccupied at night. And the windows from the sidewalk clearly show the whole inside.


Edit: A video!

Stax

Good info. Thanks!