At a press conference this morning in Hamilton, GO Transit announced that they will be adding bicycle racks to the front of inter-city GO buses, as well as allowing cyclists to bring folding bikes on rush-hour trains!
According to GO's updated bicycle page, the bike racks will be added to GO buses on the QEW Express service between Hamilton and Union Station, and the Hamilton to Aldershot Station bus connection. This service will be available starting August 1st, and will expand to other routes over the next 12 months. The new bike racks hold two bikes per bus.
In the past, the difficulty with adding bicycle racks to the front of GO buses comes from a law that prohibits any kind of equipment from being attached to the front of inter-city buses. GO Transit had to work with the Ontario Ministry of Transportation and all of the municipalities that their buses pass through to get this approved.
For more information about the bike racks on buses, check the GO bike by bus brochure.
Also, starting June 30th, there will be a pilot project allowing customers to take their folding bike on the GO Trains, even during rush hour. Please check their Folding Bike Etiquette guide too.
Personally, I think this is excellent news! Multi-modal commuting and travel around the GTA will be so much easier. Of course, there are still some limitations on the types of bikes you can bring on the various GO services, but this is still a huge step in the right direction. I'm looking forward to using both of these new GO/bike travel options.
Comments
anthony
Excellent news!
Thu, 06/26/2008 - 16:14This is most excellent news. I'm glad that Go's busses now have racks. But even cooler is the ability to allow folding bikes on during rush hour and that they've complied an etiquette guide. I really hope that the pilot is successful because it would be great to have this all of the time.
This makes floding bikes a wee bit more valuable, and GO's service is extended at no cost to GO! This could be a brilliant move for GO.
tino
Good news
Thu, 06/26/2008 - 12:18Freedom, Baby. Yeah!
Charles Akben-M... (not verified)
Credit where it's due
Thu, 06/26/2008 - 14:53I think lots of the credit for this goes to NDP MPP Andrea Horwath, who issued a press release recently asking for the provincial government to remove the restrictions on bike racks on inter-city bus routes.
CfSC sent a letter of support to Ms. Horwath and the relevant ministers on behalf of Ottawa's cyclists. Glad to see something come of it!
I hope that GO is using stainless steel racks, which will last longer.
Tone (not verified)
I think Metrolinx helped ...
Thu, 06/26/2008 - 14:57I actually emailed Rob MacIsaac, the head of Metrolinx, about the possbility of allowing folding bikes on rush hour trains, even emailing a link to this thread (http://www.ibiketo.ca/node/1457#comment-1076). I figured that, given Metrolinx's mandate, they might be more interested in the suggestion.
Much to my surprise, he emailed me back immediately and told me he would take it up with GO Transit. I followed up and he emailed to let me know that GO was looking into it but he was optimistic.
Who knows, maybe GO was already headed down this track (no pun intended) anyway, but I was very impressed that the head of Metrolinx was presonally responding to my emails and taking it up with fairly high level people at GO.
Ironically, I still live in Toronto (I've been considering moving farther out and commuting and the idea of bringing a folding bike on GO would make my commute far more attractive) so I won't actually participate in the pilot. But, I hope it is really successful as it opens the door to the kind of commuting lots of people could do -- a short ride to the station, a train ride into the city and a short ride to their destination.
Hats off to Metrolinx and GO for giving it a try!
Aidan
GO racks, why?
Thu, 06/26/2008 - 23:59Unless these are buses without cargo bays, why are bike racks going on the front of a bus that will travel among 130km/hr traffic? A little dangerous, no? I don't know the buses on that route, but those on the Guelph line have huge cargo bays (which GO did not allow cyclists to use).
Derek Koops (not verified)
Do Bike Racks on Buses Make Sense?
Fri, 06/27/2008 - 09:24Perhaps bike racks on GO buses make sense given that those buses tend to travel farther distances and people might use them in conjunction with bicycles but the money and effort that the TTC is putting into bike racks on buses is in my opinion a total waste. The whole initiative seems more geared towards giving the appearance that this city is bicycle friendly than anything else. I have never, not even one time, seen any of the TTC bike racks being used.
They must have been dreamed up by someone that does not use a bicycle or transit for transportation. I could see someone using a combination of bicycle and transit to commute to work riding a bike to a subway station in stead of taking a bus and then using the subway to travel closer to work and then finish the trip at the other end by bike. However, this is not possible because there is no provision for bikes on subways during peak periods. I can't imagine anyone putting their bike on a bus and taking it to a subway stop and then riding their bike in stead of using the subway for the rest of their trip. Perhaps that is why these racks are never used.
Is there any data available showing that these racks are used and that it's not a total waste of money buying more? I think this money would have been better spent making some provision in subways for bikes.
tanya
Bike racks on TTC
Fri, 06/27/2008 - 11:48I have put my bike on one of those racks on a TTC bus. I was going from downtown to Yonge and Finch to start a recreational ride out of the city early on a Sunday morning before the subway opened, and was using the all night Yonge bus. The bus was so full of passengers that I would not have been able to take my bike on the bus itself. So there are non-rush hour times when buses are full.
They are also useful for mechanical breakdowns, and no doubt for some people that find the downhill commute easier than the uphill one (say up Bathurst to St. Clair)
But yes the usefulness is limited right now for a few reasons, obviously subway + bike would be the preferred combination for multimodal commuters, which I did often previously but had to keep my bike locked up at a subway station. Not all TTC routes have racks and not all buses on those routes have racks so you can't count on it.
It may also promote biking while perhaps not increase transit ridership as people biking know they have a backup just in case...
Todd Tyrtle (not verified)
Crossing 400 series highways
Fri, 06/27/2008 - 16:36While I've not used the racks before, I find crossing over/under some of the 400 series highways so stressful and filled with driver/cyclist conflict that I have considered using the bus just to do a short stretch to get across without the headache. As it turns out I found it too much of a hassle and ended up instead significantly modifying my route, adding a few KM and taking the one off-road crossing (that I know of) on the east end to get home instead.
Still, for some folks less confident on the roads, I can see that that might be a benefit.
IronMac
Not here
Fri, 06/27/2008 - 16:45Derek, I've seen bikes on bus bike racks in Chicago and that city is pretty similar to Toronto. Last year, while on an HPV group ride, I stopped and chatted with a bus driver (he was going off-break at a station) who seemed happy to show me how the rack worked.
I think that the idea is still pretty new that people are not yet used to the option and also for the fact that the racks are being phased in on newer buses so it's not something that a commuter can rely upon.
Anonymous (not verified)
bikes on trains - Copenhagen
Sat, 06/28/2008 - 00:02Just a lil comment on this - the ultimate solution is to let bikes on trains all the time 24/7. It comes with the will of stake holders and popularizing mass bicycle culture. The most appropriate incentive is to make facilities available. Then - of course little by little people start to use them. When I traveled in Copenhagen what I noticed is every train - each one of them had clearly marked half a compartment to carry your bikes with proper ways to fasten your bike. NO interference with passengers.
http://www.80days.com/gallery2/d/224-3/PA276541_x.jpg
Why can't the TTC and GO adopt that - Just do it for one year - a half a compartment just for bikes - you will see the results! Imagine a huge bike mark on the side of the compartments. (If i dig into some of my old pictures - I will post them here)
I guess we should advocate to ban "beach holidays" for TTC and GO officials and send them to Europe on tax payer funded work/fact finding holidays for a change!
herb
bike racks = intermodal
Sat, 06/28/2008 - 00:41Derek, not every transit trip involves the subway, nor can you anticipate all the diversity of routes people have and how being able to bring a bike can help with connections. Many other cities have bike racks on buses so it didn't take much for city cycling staff to work with TTC on this. I helped when I worked there. We were/are all hardcore cyclists.
I have the impression the TTC is not doing a good job of explaining the racks to riders. I haven't seen the brochures on the buses in 2 years.
vic
Racks, racks everywhere
Sat, 06/28/2008 - 06:52I've been seeing more and more racks on TTC buses. Yesterday I saw a southbound bus on Islington Ave. at Dundas St. carrying a yellow BMX. People ARE using them, but they don't seem as popular here yet as in other cities.
In Ottawa, they are very popular, and I used to see cyclists get denied access because both spots on the rack were already full. In Vancouver, I also saw bikes on the racks very frequently.
I think Herb made a good point that the TTC perhaps isn't explaining / advertising the racks enough. In Ottawa, they have a demo rack that they bring to cycling events so you could try the racks out, without the nervousness of being a newbie on a bus that's about to pull away (I've only ever seen this in Toronto on a full-sized bus at the Bike Show).
As for GO trains....yes, that would be ideal if we could bring bikes on board any time. Hopefully they'll get around to increasing capacity to allow this. But capacity is what's holing it back now. Many of those rush-hour trains can barely hold any more people, let alone bicycles. I know GO is working on getting longer trains/platforms, more frequent service, twinning tracks, etc., but they'll need some pretty massive expansion before they can sacrifice people space for bicycle space.
In the meantime...keep the heat on. Let GO know that you appreciate the current efforts, and tell them you'd love to be able to bring your bike on board at all times. Those Euro examples are excellent.
Anonymous (not verified)
Some pics of bikes on trains
Sat, 06/28/2008 - 09:24California
http://www.newhavenadvocate.com/sortable/image/cal_trainWEB.jpg
I could not dig into my own pics- but here are some from a google search! Bikes on trains - just give it a try - it will work 100%.
Copenhagen
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1081/552703852_64f971fde7.jpg
London
http://www.seat61.com/images/France-bike.jpg
5 bike ring posts on TTC stands vs. 50 post rings on Toronto Parking Authority 3 car parking spots:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/82/252869110_e8a5da94bf.jpg?v=0
Beautiful
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/207/447413881_224ccf3fd8.jpg?v=0
Cheap but effective
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1228/966038640_817cc17a57.jpg?v=0
Peter (not verified)
London Ontario to receive bike racks on buses
Sun, 06/29/2008 - 12:01A proposal for bike racks on buses was approved at the London Transit Commission meeting on June 25, 2008.
The proposal calls for racks on each bus on four long arterial routes starting in May 2009. The #17 Oxford West route stretches from Byron in west London to Gore & Clarke on the far east side. The other three routes are north/south: #10 Wonderland in the west , #16 Adelaide in the centre and #14 Highbury in the east. Wonderland and Highbury interlink to form a loop on the south side. Forty racks are required. The initial cost is $65,000 with $10,000 of that for marketing and education. The annual maintenance/operating cost will be an additional $5,000.
I think it's a good start. The vast majority of Londoners will be within 4km of one of the routes.
Wil (not verified)
Folding Bikes
Wed, 07/02/2008 - 08:59After being kicked off the GO train with a folder earlier this year, it's nice to see that things are changing.
However, after reading their etiquette/tips page, it's a bit discerning as riders with folders can still be kicked off =(
"Please remember: GO staff retains the right to ask you to disembark or prevent you from boarding the train with your folding bike. This policy applies to all large packages brought on board GO Trains and may happen if a train is overcrowded or if your bike will disturb other passengers. Please cooperate with our staff’s requests, as we are trying to ensure the best possible commuting experience for all."
vic
GO and folding bikes
Thu, 07/17/2008 - 09:04Andrae Griffith posted a nice summary of his experiences using a folding bike with GO Transit, Brampton Transit, and the TTC over on his "Visions for the GTTA" blog:
http://gttavisions.blogspot.com/2008/07/adventures-on-folding-bicycle.html