After a week of operations under their belt, Capital Metro announced today that they will be limiting the number of bicycles on each train to 4 per car or 8 total on each Red Line train. The problem cited is safety:
Bikes by themselves are not exactly the problem; too many bikes sharing the space with lots and lots of passengers has resulted in a few passengers getting scraped by the bikes, and a lot of difficulty in moving in and out of the railcar. Herzog cautioned that with this number of bikes onboard, if there was an accident or a need to evacuate the car, passengers would not be able to safely get out.
Considering the distance each MetroRail stop is to the actual residences and businesses people need to get to, heavy bike usage for last leg travel should not have been a surprise. Looks like you’d better invest in a folding bike if you are not an early stop on the line and don’t want to be forced to leave your bike behind or have to wait for the next train.
I’ll leave to the editorializing on yet another instance of Capital Metor’s inability execute on yet another aspect of commuter rail to other regular readers of this site.
on Mar 29th, 2010 at 2:15 pm
cited. not sited.
on Mar 29th, 2010 at 2:16 pm
I caught the 5:30pm train which was packed. At the convention center there 3 bikes, none of which were able to use the rack because family was sitting there. 2 of us with bikes had to stand in the boarding/unboarding area, which required a dance to maneuver the bikes out of peoples way at the stops. Ripping out the couple of seats under the bike rack hooks would partially solve the problem as 2 bikes would have been out of the way. I wonder how much time Cap Metro spent riding the trains in Portland?
on Mar 29th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Fixed, Anon. Thanks.
on Mar 29th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
Bryce,
I was thinking that myself. Portland (and San Francisco) seem to accommodate high numbers of bike riders without much issue from my experience.
on Mar 29th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
Doesn’t make sense to me- yes, the northbound PM trains were packed last week due to joyriders, but there were maybe 10 people per train car on my train this morning (which arrived at 8:34 at the d/t station). Limiting bikes because they inconvenienced one time joyriders is not a smart move, as some of the connecting bus stops to/from the train station are several blocks away, and a bike is the best way to make that connection, not to mention that fact that many people bike from their home directly to the station. The least CapMetro can do is have more secure bike storage at the station (bike lockers). I support rail, even though this one has been implemented poorly, but this particular one is going to need all the riders they can get, and limiting bikes is also going to limit ridership.
on Mar 29th, 2010 at 4:22 pm
I’ve put in a request with CapMetro for better bicycle storage at every rail stop. It seems essential to me, and it should be first-rate parking, including racks and lockers.
on Mar 29th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
I reverse commuted from MLK to Kramer 3x with my bike last week to try it out. I had no trouble getting on at MLK in the morning. Couldn’t get on in teh evening at Kramer Mo or Th, due to space (joyriders!), didn’t try Fr. So I pedaled (14 miles) home both times. There were 5 bikes on the car I was on Fr morning.
I hope the bike limit does not become a problem. I used to think 2 slots on the bus racks was too few, but had not heard of any problems of a 3rd bike getting bumped until very recently. Now I hear it happens more often.
I doubt I’ll be using the train, not because of the limit, but because I have to get up earlier, don’t save any time, have to pay $2, and still have to pedal 5.5 miles, instead of my regular 9.5 miles. Maybe for fun now and then…
on Mar 29th, 2010 at 7:55 pm
Thanks for making that request Tom. The 6:05 was pretty empty on leaving downtown, picked up another 15 or so at MLK, including two bikes. They really need to make the necessary accomodations to include more bikes if they are going to have a chance to get the numbers they want. It just makes sense, since we are already predisposed to using transit (if and when convenient), so why alienate cyclists?
on Mar 30th, 2010 at 11:55 am
I would like it if the train went through Nueces. I don’t need a stop there. But I’d like to go by all of the lawyers and bail bonds office so that I can decide which one deserves my business.
on Jun 11th, 2010 at 4:40 am
This, of all pro-ecology campaigns, is going to compromise the enthusiasm for riding bikes as against cars in urban areas. So much for CapMetro’s PR campaigns. Certainly is a loser for avid bikers like me!