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Metro Moving Slowly to Make Space for Bikes on Trains, But What About Bikes for Trains?

11:03 AM PDT on August 30, 2010

Screen_shot_2010_08_28_at_8.31.45_PM.png

During my hiatus, the issue of how Metro deals with cyclists and their bikes on Metro trains rose again.  You may remember way back during Bike to Work Week, Metro staff announced that they were working to reverse their rush hour ban on cyclists bringing their bikes onto certain trains at rush hour.  While Metro hasn't backed off that commitment, they also haven't exactly been rushing to implement bike areas on trains, proper signage in stations, and then finally reversing this long-standing policy.

Writing for The Source, Metro public relations specialist Dave Sotero, who happens to ride a folding bike to a bus to a Metrolink train to get to work, tries to explain why Metro is still "working on it."

Metro Operations is now actively seeking bicycle community inputdirectly through the newly created Metro Bicycle Roundtable series, aforum for working closely with community stakeholders on bicycle-related issues. Two Operations subcommittee meetings have been held tospecifically address how cyclists interact with the Metro Bus and Railsystem.

Ok, fair enough.  Metro staff tried to tackle this issue last year and received a drubbing from a bicycle community concerned with restrictions on the number of bicycles that could be on each rail car.  Sotero notes that issue hasn't been resolved, but that we can expect an update for the Metro Board Operations Committee for their September meeting.

Another issue that may have slowed down the implementation of the rush hour ban reversal is that the staff at Metro don't always work in concert.  The Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition noticed a proposal going to the aforementioned Operations Committee in July that, amongst other things, re-affirmed the rush hour ban on certain trains and set up a civilian court to deal with violators.  The bicycling-related part of the proposal was removed, but it goes to show you that just because the agency holds a press conference doesn't mean everyone gets the memo.

Streetsblog will post the report to the Operations Committee as soon as Metro places it online.

The other issue relating to bicycles on trains that's been in the news is the issue of folding bikes.  Metro allows folding bikes to be brought in to all of their trains and buses provided that they're, you know, actually folded at the time.

Screen_shot_2010_08_28_at_8.30.12_PM.pngMetro's Tony Jusay stops for a chat during a chance meeting when Streetsblog and the Eastside Bike Club were joining forces for the Gold Line Eastside Safety Ride last fall.

Back in July, the non-profit CALSTART and Metro partnered to survey transit riders to find out how they could encourage more transit riders to take folding bicycles on to trains.  For years, it has been rumored that Metro was working to create a program to provide discount vouchers to help ease the cost of buying a folding bicycle.  For an equally long amount of time, CALSTART has been examining the "last mile problem" that keeps many people from taking transit, i.e. that people aren't willing to take the bus or train because they feel stranded when they arrive at the transit destination that isn't quite at their final destination.

The goal of the program is for people who are transit averse because of the last mile program to start using a bicycle to connect to transit or to get people who drive to their transit connections to switch to the bicycle.  Similar programs have been tried in Europe, including England and Denmark, with mixed results.

Some cyclists wonder if this is indeed the best way for Metro to be spending its resources. A supportive quote from Roadblock about the project illustrates the problem:

I'm 6'8" so folding bikes are not an option for me, but I do support that the fact that metro
is being proactive about taking bikes on the train. The fact is that
the bicycle is the perfect compliment for a train service that kind of
sort of gets you where you want to go. Just hop on the train and bike the rest of the way.

Or put another way, this is a great idea, but it doesn't work for everyone, including tall people.  Is finding ways to encourage folding bikes a solution in search of a problem, or is it smart policy?

Los Angeles Council District Four Candidate Stephen Box laments that by focusing its resources on promoting folding bikes, Metro is ignoring the potential customer base of current cyclists who don't use Metro because too often the system doesn't work for moving both cyclists and their bikes.  Box sent me a laundry list of concerns with the program, all of which can be read here.

The survey demonstrates the huge disconnect between the Metro's perception of reality and...reality! Who will be buying Folding Bikes? What are the bus lines that have the highest number of bike commuters? The Metro's survey  is targeting a middle class rail market. (plus the Orange Line) How about the overcrowded #4 which is so packed that cyclists simplygive up? How about the #150 or the #761 or some of the other criticaland crowded bus routes? Has the Metro determined how many cyclists can't get on these crowded buses?

The five stations where Metro and CALSTART staff administered the survey were four rail stations and one Orange Line Station.  To be fair, most models for innovative programs concerning folding bikes and transit do take place on rail stations because rail, unlike local bus service, usually has large gaps between stops.

The results of the survey will be incorporated in to a more detailed implementation plan which will also be released sometime next month.  Streetsblog will have full coverage  when the results are released.

While the survey is closed, you can still read it here.

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