Another case for integrating biking and transit

By On December 3, 2010 · 6 Comments

Integrating biking and transit can reduce a user’s transportation costs.

A friend just instant messaged me to describe his “bike instead of transit” commute,

“I spent $440 on Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) this year and $300 on bike stuff. When I was just taking the CTA it was $1032 per year. I used to have the monthly pass deducted from my paycheck, $86 per month. Now I pay as a I go, and I go much less.”

In some places, and for other people’s situations, commuters could bike TO the train or bus and reduce their costs by eliminating a transfer. Transit also lengthens a bike rider’s possible trip distance when they combine the modes. In this sense, providing services or facilities for people riding bikes attracts new customers or maintains relationships with existing customers.

The Department of Transportation is now funding projects that improve bicycling (and walking) connections to bus and train stations. We should continue focusing on expanding and improving our bikeway networks by connecting them with our transit networks. By doing so, we make each system more robust and give people more options to choose the route that’s best for them.

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Boarding northbound Caltrain at Palo Alto University Avenue station.

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Some buses can hold three bikes (see Seattle and Silicon Valley). Highway 17 Express bus Santa Cruz bound at San Jose State University stop. Photos by Richard Masoner.

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  • http://jqr.posterous.com Jonathan R

    My transit benefit provider gives me a debit card, which I can use for subway or commuter rail fare, whatever I prefer.

    That said, I’m not a giant fan of bike racks on buses or bike tie-downs on trains. They’re convenient for me, but they’re not scalable. If a bus can carry 50 passengers, that means that 94% of riders won’t be able to take their bike. Same thing with bike tie-downs; a railroad car holds about 100 passengers and has room for two-three bikes max.

    • http://www.stevevance.net/planning Steven Vance

      I agree with you.

      We’ll need to work to make our system as robust as possible. That means using 3-bike racks on buses when needed (I don’t think the CTA will need to upgrade for a while, but should consider it for any future bus purchases to use on the most popular bike routes), and secure bike parking. Without using it, I’m a fan of BikeLink bike lockers.

      I’ve never heard of the transit benefit being provided via debit card. Is this a debit card only accepted by those transit providers, or can it work at Walgreens?

      • http://jqr.posterous.com Jonathan R

        Steven, take a peek at Transitcenter.com. That’s the product I get.
        The debit card is only good for transportation, as far as I know; I
        use it in the fare machines in New York here. The big question is
        whether I could buy intercity bus tickets with it.

        It’s very convenient, because I can buy pay-per-ride fares and use
        them when I need them (like last night when my wife lost her contact
        lens and couldn’t bike home), instead of being locked into a monthly
        pass. Or I can get two or three MetroCards and give them to friends.

        • http://www.stevevance.net/planning Steven Vance

          I looked at TransitChek (transitcenter.com). They have an order form for the Chicago area, but I didn’t notice anything on it specific to Chicago (maybe just the mailing address is different).

          I’ve never had the opportunity to receive transit commuter benefits, or bike commuter benefits (well, I’m looking for a job right now…). When I attended UIC I was forced to buy a U-PASS that offered unlimited travel for the semester+10 days for $75 (the price later rose to $95). For the first semester, I probably used it a lot. For the following semesters, not so much because I rode my bike.

          I have a pay-per-use automatically-reloadable card now which is the most convenient payment system out there. I always have money to pay for the bus or train. If and when the CTA installs secure bike lockers at the train station, that’s one less trip by bus I have to take because I can bike there instead – even with my luggage, on my way to the airport.

    • http://www.cyclelicio.us/ Cyclelicious

      I can’t think of the per-train load at the moment, but systemwide capacity on Caltrain in my part of the world is 80,000 passengers per day and 6,000 bikes. Each trainset has room for 48 bikes minimum, with several cars equipped to take 96.

      But jrab is right — it doesn’t scale very well. I think the most value in integrating bikes / transit is probably in access to / from transit hubs. That means bike parking and ‘bike friendly’ bikeways. Bike access very effectively increases transit service area. It’s why the US Federal Transit Agency expanded the catchment area for projects eligible for FTA funding.

      • http://www.stevevance.net/planning Steven Vance

        I agree with you and jrab. I believe that our regional rail’s bike policies on capacity are sufficient (it was upped from 3 bikes per car to 5 for 2010). But I would like the agency, Metra, to make changes (in its policy and workforce) to ensure that the bicycle always has a place to ride in the train.

        What I mean: During allowed times, the bicyclist competes for space in the train with people with disabilities. If a person with a disability boards and requires use of that space, they have priority and the bicyclist must move to a different car or exit the train.

        Most cars have two priority spaces. Only one of these can hold bicycles (or 5 seated passengers, or a couple passengers in wheelchairs) while the other can hold two people on seats or one person in a wheelchair. People with disabilities can claim either space. The final word on who goes where is up to the conductor.

        As for the workforce, I hear many stories of rude conductors, or conductors that know less about the bike policies than the passengers. Perhaps the current policy should be posted in each car, as well as better signage indicating who the space is dedicated to. CTA cars are just tinny and I don’t support a change in policy to increase the bicycle capacity.

        (The design of train cars in Europe, where I came from, allowed for bicycles and people in wheelchairs or with strollers to coexist at all non-rush times.)

        As it stands now in Chicago, bicycle access to our 4 main train stations is abysmal. The bike parking situation is always risky. None of it is indoors (although the Millennium Park Bike Station is within walking distance of the Millennium Station) or sheltered; it’s not secure or guarded. There are few bikeways leading to any station (just a north bound and south bound bike lane for the biggest two stations).