Roody

It was CATA that I posted earlier has recently switched from double to triple bike racks. I have never seen a CATA rider get annoyed with a bike using passenger. They are not allowed to go out and help people use the bike racks. I have seen them allow other passengers to help others use the racks. (Most people don't need help once they've done it once or twice.)

enigmaT120

I think the racks are easy to use. Lifting my Fargo up to a high one can be a strain, especially if I have a bunch of junk in the pannier I keep locked to it. I have to keep working on my military press.

Dahon.Steve

Folks, I took my longest ride today using the bike racks on buses. I took a one way ride that was 21 miles involving two buses. Since I'm using a monthly bus pass (2 zone) it cost only $1.25. I actually paid less than the senior citizens do. I also discovered that if I used the lightrail, (also free during weekends) the second bus would have been free! In other words, I could have traveled 42 miles and not paid a dime! LOL

I'm kicking myself that I let this opportunity pass by for so many years.

I-Like-To-Bike

Did you ride your bike at all, or were you just bus-riding around because you like to ride buses if it doesn't cost too much?

Dahon.Steve

Actually, I did ride my bike about 8 miles in total. There are several large malls in northern NJ that I haven't visited in years because rail service is very limited on Sundays. However, the buses run more frequent plus it free while heavy rail cost money. (A little over 10 dollars)

A long time ago, I would have rode the entire distance but now that I'm approaching 50, it gets harder each year.

Machka 

You're not serious about that last comment ... are you?!? You wrote it "tongue in cheek" ... right? Or did you mean to type ... now that I'm approaching 80, 50-ish mile rides (21 miles each way + 8 miles) gets harder each year.

If you're not even 50 yet, you should not be finding a casual 50 mile ride that difficult ... unless you've got some sort of medical condition that's holding you up. If you're still reasonably healthy, sure use the busses to go further afield, but get out there and ride!!

spedini

I'm glad I saw this thread...I'm a retired transit employee with a lifetime bus pass and all Milwaukee County buses have bike racks...went to the website to see how to use it...now my mind is planning all kinds of adventures...feel kinda silly for not thinking of it sooner. The bus stop is very close to my house, <1mi.

I remember when we first started putting the racks on the buses, the guys in the shops all poo pooed it, now it's quite common to see bikes in the racks, the public is definitely using them.

Bikes on Buses - How to Ride - Milwaukee County Transit System

gerv 

Have a good ride! Sounds like you'll enjoy yourself.

Dahon.Steve

Good for you!

I'm glad more people who are not carfree are searching and finding out the usefulness of bike racks. Maybe it will allows others to use public transit instead of taking their cars.

A lifetime transit pass? WOW! I should have been a bus driver! LOL!

Dahon.Steve

I am out of shape for one and yes I do have a couple of medical conditions.

There are alot of people out there like me who would find it difficult to ride 50 miles. Even though I could probably do it, it's something that I would not enjoy. I prefer to ride limited miles and enjoy the cycling.

I happen to think the bus and their bike racks will keep me riding into the winter this year. I really can't wait for the weekends to continue testing new bus lines and riding for free. Having the bus take me to new roads is what it's all about.

Machka 

Well, maybe using the bus will help you maintain your fitness over winter so you can improve your fitness next spring.


And yes, I know there are a lot of people in their 40s who aren't fit. There's just no reason to be one of those people ... unless there is an underlying medical condition preventing a person from being active. I'm "approaching 50" ... or in other words, I'm in my late-40s and I'm hoping for a better summer of cycling than I've had in the last couple years. Late-40s is still young ... still lots of energy for lots of cycling.

The thing is ... if you're not fit in your 40s, what are your 50s and 60s and 70s going to be like?

Roody

I consider that to be his business, not mine. It's tacky to give unsolicited advice, IMO. But, to get back on topic...

I think that the bus racks encourage bus riders to use bikes more often than thy encourage bike riders to use buses. A lot of the people I see using the bus racks are older people, in their 60s or even 70s. One older lady put her bike on the rack, then stayed on the bus for only a few blocks. I would not have bothered with it for such a short distance. But then I realized that her cycling range might be limited... or maybe she got on the bus in the middle of a long ride just so she could sit down and rest for a few minutes.

But whatever her reason, she was getting more exercise than some of the younger people on the bike. Even putting the bike on the rack and taking it off again is good exercise for ROM and stretching.

You say you hope to stay fit into old age. I hope you do too. But you just can't assume that you will. Old age happens, no matter how much you exercise and how well you eat. I'm almost 60, I exercise a LOT, but I still feel the age in my bones, my lungs, and so forth.

Dahon.Steve

I wanted to bump this thread for the last time to illustrate the power of multimode transport using the bike and bus rack.

Today, I finally used 5 buses and only paid $1.25 to travel over 40 miles! Incredible. If I had taken the lightrail, I would have paid nothing. Why do I even bother taking a bike if most of the travel is by bus? The reason is simple. Options.

One bus took me an incredible 20 miles into the suburbs but it left me 3 miles from the mall (Garden State Plaza). I just rode my bike when I noticed it was bumper to bumper traffic for 10 blocks into the mall! No one and I mean no one rides a bicycle to this mall! I remember back in the 1980s how one could find plenty of parking at this mall. Now it’s impossible. I’ve never in my life seen so many cars doing circles in the parking lot looking for a spot and it’s not even the holidays. Unbelievable.

As night fell, I went to the bus stop and there were dozens of people waiting for buses but I was the ONLY person with a bicycle. As a result, I was going to take any bus that got me out of that zoo! In other words, I had options and my bike was my escape vehicle. If I had been without my bike, it would have been a long wait as the buses were stuck in the same bumper to bumper traffic as the cars. I eventually transferred to another bus that left me 3 miles from my final destination. That was fine because I had my bike with me and I just rode there. I don’t know why more don’t use the racks and bring their bikes to that mall?

Also, I also got see the USS Ling in Hackensack New Jersey. It was amazing to enter this WWII submarine and the stories we were told were just incredible.

Roody

I'm glad you're having so much fun on the uses with bike racks. They really did open up a new world for you!

Dahon.Steve

It really has opened up alot and I created a spreadsheet using Google Docs that times the buses. NJ Transit has an online "trip planner" that provides the bus arrival time even for multiple transfers. It's fine but one can only see a trip for the time period you enter. I like the ability to see what my options are for the entire day. Maybe one day when it's more polished, I'll start a thread on this subject.

On a different subject, I haven't been to the Garden State Plaza in over 10 years because it's just too far away in the suburbs. It was really shocking how the car culture has run amok over the past 20 years in New Jersey because it was horrible. I can see this only getting worse in the future as there will be more cars than today.

Basically, only minorities were using the bus and everyone and his mother were in their cars. I don't know how people living out there can deal with that on a daily basis. I had zero trouble getting in and out of the mall. Why? I had a bicycle and used the bus.

Roody

One nice thing about our bus company is that they drive right into the parking lots of the malls and Meijer stores. One Meijer gets well over 200 customers a day from the buses that come almost to the front door. This store is located on the very fringe of the suburbs. Even though other malls and Meijer stores are closer to me, I often go to this one because the bus access is so convenient (runs every 10 minutes).

I can see that bike racks on buses would be especially convenient in the suburbs because buses don't always get as close to the destinations as they do in the city.

I-Like-To-Bike

If you should get tired of seeing how far you can go on your local bus service for a few dollars, you might get even more adventure with these suggestions:
10 Iconic American Public-Transit Rides - SmarterTravel.com

Dahon.Steve

Good post.

I rode the Staten Island Ferry numerous times and without question, it's the best public transit ride in New York city. I have to visit SF one day and ride the muni and cable cars up market street. I won't be able to bring a full size bike though! I've already boarded all rail lines in New York, New Jersey, Boston and Philadelphia.

Buses are next!

I-Like-To-Bike

The street cars (trolleys) in SF may look familiar; many originally were SEPTA cars which Philadelphia almost gave away for $12,000 apiece. Saved SF about a million dollars apiece over equivalent cars available from other sources.
Philadelphia Trolley Tracks: San Francisco PCCs

B. Carfree

Those West Coast folks are like kid brothers, always wearing hand-me-downs.



(Unitrans bus in Davis, CA)

300# Gorilla

My usual commute is a two mile bike ride (mostly down hill) to the Park and Ride to catch the Express downtown (13 miles). Ride six blocks to work, lock it up in the bike corral. For the ride home I catch a Local bus, it takes longer but drops me off two block from home and I do not have to peddle back up the hill. Is there a contest for laziest bike commuter?
Two place racks on all busses. If the racks are full it is up to the Driver, I have been left once when the rack was full, I have also had them insist on me bringing my bike on the bus, a couple of times they had two bikes on racks and two more on the bus!
Always let the Driver know when you are getting off the bus that you will be getting your bike, and if you will being crossing in front of the bus (if the light is red). Work with the Driver, they have a difficult enough job, and they are providing a service to you. I am a regular on the route and I feel like most of the Drivers are looking out for me.
Light rail has hooks to carry multiple bikes, commuter rail (NorthStar) has bike storage.
There is a whole section on the website on bikes (metrotransit.org)
So, Yes, In Minneapolis and St Paul the system works pretty well.