Bikes on trains during rush hour?

Hot off the presses today is another motion by L.A. City Council President Eric Garcetti: a resolution asking the MTA to lift its ban on bikes on trains during weekday rush hours. At right are the current rules.

This is a good issue and not an easy one. Cyclists who use the trains as part of their commute are understandably frustrated because they have to either leave work early or wait until after rush hour is over.  On the other hand, ridership is up on MTA rail lines and I can tell you firsthand many trains are standing- room only now -- without a bunch of bikes on them.

As part of his resolution, Garcetti also asked the MTA to explore taking out seats, rearranging them or installing some kind of bike rack to accommodate more bikes.

Your thoughts? Please comment below.

--Steve Hymon

Chart: MTA

Comments

[Michael]

This is another example of poor planning by MTA, and the pie-in-the-sky types who build expensive rail projects without thinking things through. How are people suppose to get to the trains in the first place? Biking is an obvious solution. OBVIOUS! Get more rail cars, and get rid of this stupid bike ban.

[Sameer]

Metro definitely should allow bikes at all times, but I think they should take all the seats out of one car per train (it can be the last car, since that's usually less crowded anyway), allowing cyclists to stand with their bikes without blocking already narrow aisles.

[Jeff Greenfield]

I use a bike made by Montigue Bicycle Company. They made the folding bikes in partnership with BWM for the athletes to use in the summer Olympic games in Atlanta in 1996. I have never had any trouble with it. Now Montigue makes bicycles for the military (and a civilian version) that folds; paratroopers skydive with their folding bikes, and when they land they unfold their bike and are undetectable by enemy radar. Who says these folding bikes are unsafe? People parachute with them with no problem! They would be great to take (folded) on board of public transportation.

[LawsuitWaitingToHappen]

Sure, lets tell certain groups of commuters that they are not allowed to use public transportation. That isn't discrimination. If bicyclers take up more than "their share" of the space, lets also bad fat people. Who do they think they are anyway taking up more standing room or sticking out into the aisle? And baby strollers. Babies are small, Mom can carry them because we need more room on the train. Your taxes will go up if we have to build more freeways to accommodate commuters in cars instead of allowing us on the red/blue/gold lines.

[browne]

I think it is intersting that Metro and the sheriff enforce the ban on drinks, I have seen the sheriffs bothering people about that, but not the one on bikes. Intersting it sort of reminds me how crack gets you more jailtime than cocaine.

browne

[RUkiddin]

Bikes vs baby strollers and wheelchairs. Those of you trying to compare these groups, get real, there's no comparison. Public transportation in Los Angeles has been about a 3% of the population afterthought for most Angelenos for 30 years. Now that there's a gas crunck all of a sudden all the "bicyclers" are parking their cars and "demanding" space on trains that are getting more and more crowded every day. For 18 years the RTD and LA Metro have "accomodated" bikes on their trains outside of the Board adopted policy to convenience the bicycle community succoming to the pressure of the politically connected and not caring for those customers that are being bumped, pushed, sqwished, ran into and left standing becasue bikes block seats of other customers. There is such a big deal of Bike Week and they are so proud of riding from La to Long Beach (except those that have to ride the Blue Line back). Almost all major cities have restrictions for bikes of some sort. LA has been gracious enough to look the other way for the bikers for along time. It's time to realize there's just not enough room on the trains, paltforms, escaltors and elevators anymore. Be considerate...It's only a couple of hours, adjust..

[don]

I have a real bike.I am part of the solution.Metro should accomodate bike riders who are part of decongesting the streets.
Why d o i have to now buy a sceond bike just for the metro?
Folding bikes are junk and unsafe.Never mind that they are nothing compared to riding a real bike-they ride like a cast iron tricycle.They also are not meant for taller or heavier people.
I use my bike a lot and i would never trust my life or limb to a structurally vulnerable contraption which is nothing more than an unsafe novelty.No thanks.

Add a half car or full car.Not letting on bikes is like refusing baby strollers,wheel chair access etc...Are those riders chastized as people with a sense of entitlement?Some of the anti bike posts here are absurd.

[D. Malcolm Carson]

Interesting question, Steve. Part of the issue might be improving security for bike parking at outlying stations. If you're riding into LA in the morning, unless you're transferring to another line for a ride back out, there should be at least somewhat decent pedestrian or bus connections that can get you to your destination. But many people don't feel safe leaving their bikes locked up for 8-10 hours a day, probably with good reason depending on the bike.

Caltrain on the SF Peninsula restricts bicycles to the last car on the train, and that car has a section with bike racks instead of seats. That could be an idea.

It also might make sense to have one rule for the Red Line and another rule for the light rail lines. The Red Line doesn't go anywhere that doesn't have great bus connections, but the other lines not so much.

I think it's worth opening up a debate about this. Bicycles should be a key part of our alternative transportation network and not everyone can afford to buy a folding bike specifically for the purpose of taking it on the train.

[Mad Jack]

Regarding Jeff's comment on the Sheriff's Dept. at 70 mill, you would think there were more of them, but as I understand it, the sheriff's are ripping off the MTA at 160,000 each and the MTA can't afford enough of them at that price. With all 5 board of sup.s on their board it must be a slam dunk for contracts year to year.

They should get behind the MTA security and have them do the job since every....few times I see the sheriff's they are just standing around.

And what ever happened to that plan about cutting the sheriffs in favor of getting more security???? Guess Baca and the board of sup.s got the idea cut. I read that it would have put less expensive security officers on the trains to the tune of about 300 more for way less money. That money could have gone to the bike rack idea or something better for the trains.

[M]

I have a couple of points after reading these comments:

-I don't have personal experience with folding bikes, but from what I have heard, they aren't good to ride more than a couple of miles at a time. If that is the case, doesn't this mean it it is NOT the answer for everyone? I don't see trying to turn everyone into an excessive consumer and owning multiple bikes is not the answer. For some people buying a $50 used bike with replacements and all needed equipment is a big deal.

-There are legitimate reasons for needing to take a bike on the trains. Other cities around the world have recognized this and decided to implement systems that do not require people to drag bikes along with them all over the metro systems. They consist of "renting" and returning bikes from public areas.

-That is nice to say that people shouldn't take bikes because they take up too much space, but if you open that can of worms, you also need to deal with mothers with strollers, people in wheelchairs, people with luggage and people carrying all of their worldly possession on the trains. They shouldn't have to carry all of that stuff with them, right? Why should they need it? Don't they just need to get on the train and off and they shouldn't need to transport themselves anyplace else? What is our limit on how much space one ticket gets you on the trains?

-Bikes are part of what makes a public transportation system work, especially here in Los Angeles where it is incomplete. If the system was completely built out, I could understand having more restrictions on bikes, but as it stands, you might need to travel a few miles after the end of the train or bus to get to your final destination.

[Jeffery Cannon]

SF MUNI has banned bikes from their trains and trolleys 24/7 as they have found out they are rolling missles which take more space than a single ride ticket should allow for. SF, the most accomodating city in America is unwillingly to have bikes on public transit. That should tell you something. Bikes in packed trainsdon't mix well. For those who haven't seen the trains loads on Metro, they are packed. I've seen passengers almost in fights for prized real estate. What Metro needs to do is have their Sheriffs ($70 Million contractor) to be more visible and enforce Metro's policies. Where are those guys anyhow? Bikes, folding bikes are the way to go - You can get them for a couple hundred bucks (or under) and people who have them love them. You can put them on your shoulder and ride elevators to your office like a suit case. It's not Metro that need to change their policy it is the mindset of bikers who should find the folding bike that works best for everyone or wait for a train that isn't crowded.

I am a bike rider but first of all a friendly rider.

[skd]

In some cities in Europe the trains run every minute. They don't seem to be on top of each other. Start running trains every five minutes during rush hour. Reserve a train car for bikes. Start making the changes now. Our way of life is about to change drastically. Either we prepare for $200 barrel oil or we will be crushed by it.

[cochon.name]

i have a normal sized bike and a folding bike and haven't owned a car in 15 years. i ride as often as i possibly can(weather permitting) - anywhere from 40 to 100 miles a week - for everything, even shopping. i have only ever taken my folding bike on public transportation, which sits under a seat or on my lap - not in the way of other riders, maybe once or twice.

in my opinion, *full sized* bikes shouldn't be allowed on any subway or lrv at all. it seems a sense of entitlement that bike riders demand to be catered to in this respect. demanding that seats be removed from people who need them is nothing more than arrogance - the same sort of entitlement that auto drivers use in their demands that they be catered to at others' expense. look around you, there are people standing on those trains, who need to sit down. it takes 1 bike to take up 2 seats' worth room or more. if you have to commute by train and bike, buy a folding bike. period.

demanding this kind of accommodation instead of demanding adequate bike lanes/paths is unfortunate and misdirected.

this wasn't really a problem before the cost of gas went up, which means that all these public transportation newbies are clogging up trains with their bikes, because they still live xx number of miles from their job. have some respect for the people who've been riding public transportation all the years before you ever gave it a second thought.

[Jonathan]

I think that they should do more to accommodate bikes, but like some other posters, I already see them at rush hour all the time on the trains.

[Mark Panitz]

well techinllu you can ride during rush times
like its okay to use the say the Blue line to Long Beach
between 7am to 9:00am
(its only restricted going to LA from Long beach)
then its just reserve in the afternoon on Blue Line
(you cant take you from LA to Long beach after
3pm
but you can take from Long beach the LA
and there are no restrictions on the Red Line
from Vermont to North hollywood you can ride anytime
the gold line and Green Line have silmar
restrictions
its sort of easy to remember
if you are going away from LA in the morning its
okay and if you are going to LA in the afternoon
thats the okay
for Green Line its westbound not allow during am peak
yes okay going eastbound
(then reserve in the afternoon)

[mark harvis]

There are bikes on the Gold Line during rush hour almost every day. Taking seats out would be an awful idea - particularly with those terribly small and poorly designed greyish trains..you take seats out of those and you might as well not even transport passengers.

Bike racks on the outside are the only reasonable alternative given the configurations of the trains. Do it like on the front of buses. That would work.

Oh, those grey trains - it's almost 100 per cent - they are a HUGE mistake and MTA ought to admit it and either reconfigure them or return them for a full refund!

[Dave Sotero]

Steve, your chart doesn't include Metro's allowance for folding bikes. Rules also say "Folded bikes are allowed on the train at any time" and "Folded bikes can be taken on the bus." Metro's bicycle rules specifically permit the use of folding bikes at ANY time with no peak-hour restrictions. I ride my bike to transit every day and I never have a problem getting on a bus or train, even during the rush hour. I own a compact folding bicycle that stows easily underneath my bus or rail seat. I don't compete with other bicyclists for bike rack space or storage lockers. There is a folding bike for every price range. If you want to make sure you can bicycle and use public transit today, I recommend them wholeheartedly.

[Damien Newton]

They don't enforce it, well at least I've been checked by LA County sheriffs on whether or not I have my ticket, at rush hour, with my bike, and they never said a peep to me about it.

If they were to start enforcing it, well, it would be a very strange Bike to Work week next year. Free transit for people with bikes for a day! Ya know, as long as they're not actually going to work.

[ngan]

How can they add more cars? There is no room on the platform for it during rush hours. The doors would open into the tunnel, not the platform. If you add more cars, then the only way to get in and out is going in between the cards.

As for running the trains more frequently, isn't 10 mins enough? That gives a 5 min leeway at each end of service. If you go to 5 mins, the trains would be running on top of each other.

I would first see how lifting the bans affects the spacing in the cars before doing anything. it may be that the bikes don't hamper too much.

[Ricardo]

Caltrain up in northern california has special bike cars on every train. Biking is an important component of public transit, as it increases the accesibility and ease of use for people that live or work more than a few blocks form a station.

[Linda]

We're screaming for better traffic control and less congestion. The bike is such an essential piece of this solution, I find it hard to believe there are restricted times on the lines. Definitely remove the restrictions and encourage the bikers!

[Alaia Williams/One Organized Life]

I don't own a bike and maybe that's why I didn't know about this, but I had no idea there was a ban. Is it even enforced? When I used to take the red line to work in Hollywood, I would see bikes.

I know work in downtown LA and sometimes my boss rides in from NoHo. He didn't know there was a ban either.

He thinks there should be car reserved for people with bikes. I think that's a good idea.

[Tony Fernandez]

Take out some seats near the door and make that area for standing or for stacking bikes.

Of course at some point, the only real solution will be to run more frequent trains.

[fezco]

This is a tricky situation. I sometime take my bike during non-rush hours and, even during those times, I'm afraid to
jam a pedal into someone's chin, roll over someone's foot.
I think they need to add 1/2 a car or a special section for bikes.

[BlogReader]

I whole heartedly support it. I would start using the trains even more. We should be doing everything to integrate all the different modes of transportation together.