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I noticed that our friends at the Buzzer Blog in Vancouver ran a poll recently asking how many readers had actually loaded their bike onto a bus’ bike rack. The answer: about 60 percent of readers.
Obviously it’s an unscientific poll targeted at cyclists in a very bike-friendly city. But 60 percent is still a higher number than I would expect. Even so, Buzzer Blog writer Jhenifer Pabillano smartly asked readers who responded ‘no’ if they would like an instructional video on how to use the racks.
I think that’s a fine idea for all transit agencies with bike racks, including Metro. In the meantime, Metro does have this online flier (at right) on how to use the bike racks for anyone who has been toying with the idea of using the bus to help them get around on their bikes. The ‘how to unload’ your bike flier is posted after the jump and here’s the link to the bike page on Metro’s website.
If you have any tips or ideas on how to improve the Metro bus rack experience, please leave a comment with this post.
Categories: Bicycle
I’ll echo what everyone else says about the triple racks.
Also, it would be helpful if Metro would publish the maximum size of bike that fits. I tried one out last weekend that didn’t fit; I’m very glad I didn’t buy it!
I ride a bike but frankly have never used the rack because I don’t know how! I am too nervous & embarrassed to try and fiddle around with it especially since some bus drivers have little or no patience with you. A video would be VERY helpful and much appreciated. Thank you so much for thinking about the little guy (cyclists).
A video is a great idea Sharokina… putting a bike on the rack for the first time can be a little intimidating. I’ll see what we can do. Thanks for commenting.
Fred Camino
Lifestyle Writer, The Source
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I agree with KateNonymous’s observations about full bike racks on the 761. I commuted via the 761 to Westwood while living with my parents and wound up coping with the full racks by getting my Xootr Scooter (an adult kick scooter with large wheels and brakes.) It allows me to travel distances of about a mile conveniently, plus I could fold it down and hop on board. Of course, with a bike, one could travel untold numbers of miles and much more quickly than my Xootr.
Oh, and John, it’s called “multimodalism.” The buses don’t go EVERYWHERE. Sometimes you get off and have to travel further along a route that does not have bus service. This is true for people of all economic classes, BTW.
If more people were using buses and bikes, singly or in combination, instead of driving cars, there would be less congestion. Why are you mad at the cyclists, who are also taking cars off the road?
I agree with David. The 761 also has full bike racks, particularly during “rush hour” (by which I mean 6:30 a.m. and beyond, this being L.A.), and cyclists often have to wait for several buses to pass by before they can find an open spot on a bike rack, even if there is plenty of room on the bus itself.
The Orange line has triple racks, and those seem to work quite well. I hear that there are traffic-safety issues for triple racks on street-bound buses. This, however, sounds like it could be solved with a design change. There’s no reason to say “safety issue” and end the discussion.
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I find any bus systems “accomadation” of bike riders with bike racks on the front of a bus to be an INCONVIENIENCE AND AN IMPAIRMENT TO RIDERS!
If you are going to ride a damned bike, WHAT ARE YOU DOING ON A BUS? If you are on a bus, WHY DO YOU NEED A BIKE? MTA should show more favortism towards the RIDERS of its buses, and not the “bicyclists” that SLOW THE BUSES DOWN!
I ride the bus with my bike loaded on it almost daily (particularly the 720, 20, and 920), and frankly more often than I’d like to see, both rack spots are full.
Once, I saw a triple bike rack — that is, a rack holding three bikes. Boy, I’d love to see more of those.