Ideas for Real pro-bicycle programs pushed in the upcoming mayoral elections -Bike Cars on Trains

What kinds of things would people like to see the next truly "pro-bicycle" mayoral candidate be willing to push for to sway the riding vote?

Here is mine:

 

Bike-specific CTA train cars.

 

 

 

Along the lines of what we were talking about in the senior-free/fee debate on CTA I'd like to see bicycling championed more as a dual-ride activity with the CTA & Metra.   Taking your bike on the train should be EASY and convenient.

 

EVERY train should have at least one easily-identifiable bike-specific car in the middle of the train where there would be no seats, large doors, and easy loading/unloading of our bikes as we board and debark the train. I think this is a no-brainer that would eliminate the silly restrictions on bikes that act as a disincentive to taking our bikes and using the CTA more often.

 

 

Maybe instead of giving seniors free CTA rides they should give BIKES free CTA rides -at least during a promotional month or two when the cars roll out.   If seniors want a free ride they can wheel their bikes on the train.  If anyone wanted a free ride they could bring their bikes along.  Imagine all these people incentivized to actually USE their bikes for a change?

 

Or is this a crazy far-out idea that could never happen?  Ask for big things and get little ones?  I'd love to see at least no restrictions to bringing bikes on trains, bike-specific cars that are painted GREEN and with big day-glow bike decals on it would be a simple and low-cost way to get the restrictions taken away.  Better access and bike-friendly turnstiles would help too.

 

Any other ideas or are we going to be given the same-old BS worthless promises from the candidates and end up  settling for a few more miles of nearly-worthless painted door-zone death-lanes in exchange for our support?

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on December 20, 2010 at 6:24am

Dedicated space would be great, and like you said would drive home to other passengers that we BELONG there -rather than are just in their way and/or getting away with something we shouldn't be.

 

A whole dedicated CAR would give us even more room and no non-biking customers would ever need to be put out (unless the bike car happened to stop in front of them while they were waiting on the platform and then they'd have to walk 20' to the next car (boo-hoo).

 

Having the bike car in the middle of the train would make it easier for us riders to find it and wait in the right spot.  Sooner or later when there are enough of us the other passengers will take the cue not to stand next to us (because we know where the bike car is going to stop) if they don't want to ride in a car with bikes (and possibly no seats).

 

There has to be some way to make it easy to put a lot of bikes and riders on a car and make it so they are not being jostled around too much.  I'm sure some cities in Europe have put a lot of thought into this.  We don't have to re-invent the wheel, just copy what works.   I don't/wouldn't mind standing as long as there are overhead rails or something to hang onto.

 

Being able to get all the way across town on the train while riding to/from the station at each end of my journey would really make using the bike an even more convenient choice over driving -not just for me but I suspect many others.

 

We need to change the culture and the infrastructure of public transportation to include bikes.  I never want to be forced to leave my bike at home because some step along the way in my daily routine makes it difficult/impossible to bring it along.  And I'm sure that if we made it easier for everyone then many more people would start using their bikes as an integral part of their main form(s) of transportation.

 

Cameron Puetz said:

For bikes on transit and commuter trains, I really like arrangement used in Minneapolis where there is a vertical hanging rack right by each door. It’s easy to load and saves you from doing the one hand on the bike and one hand hanging on to who knows what balancing act. Also other riders are more tolerant of cyclists since there is an obvious place for them, they aren’t blocking aisles or doors, and they don’t look like they might lose control of their bike around the next sharp bend.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hiawatha_Line-bike_rack-20061211.jpg

 

Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on December 24, 2010 at 7:12am

Portland has something similar on their light rail system.  Very nice set-up.
http://www.trimet.org/howtoride/bikes/bikesonmax.htm


Cameron Puetz said:

For bikes on transit and commuter trains, I really like arrangement used in Minneapolis where there is a vertical hanging rack right by each door. It’s easy to load and saves you from doing the one hand on the bike and one hand hanging on to who knows what balancing act. Also other riders are more tolerant of cyclists since there is an obvious place for them, they aren’t blocking aisles or doors, and they don’t look like they might lose control of their bike around the next sharp bend.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hiawatha_Line-bike_rack-20061211.jpg

 

Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on December 26, 2010 at 5:22am

At about $2M per locomotive that'll end up a hefty price tag.  Add more for any type of modern "green" extras that save fuel or lower emissions.   Put it at around $2.5-2.75M each.

 


Expect Metra fares to at least double or triple in the upcoming year.  That should get ridership up...

 

Jennifer said:

Personally I think Metra would be better off spending all their nonexistent money on new locomotives first. I don't want to be on a bike car if it's full of soot and stalled on top of a crumbling bridge.

 

On the other hand, I don't see that CTA really has any excuse.

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