Photo Diary: Bikes on Light Rail
Photo by Flickr user Andy54321
Found this photo, suspiciously dropped to our Muni Photos Flickr group, despite its having been taken in Phoenix. Here’s what Andy54321 has to say about it:
I knew it existed but it’s the first time I’ve seen bikes on an LRV.
A show of (internet) hands: Who’s jealous by this photo?
We’ve had this in the bay area, using a very similarly looking mounts, on VTA light rail for years! Take Caltrain down to Mountain View and check it out.
Muni’s decision to go with those ever-antiquated, drastically-overweight Breda cars is going to be inconveniencing us for decades more.
When I saw those Breda cars (designed for high-speed travel IIRC, which is never the case of MUNI Metro…) I’m pretty sure I groaned louder than the J-Church rounding the corner of 30th and San Jose…
The manufacturers of the Phoenix trains is Kinkisharyo (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinki_Sharyo) – they also do VTA LRVs and Seattle, which both have spaces for bikes to hang as well.
All the LRVs (most of which are LOW FLOOR trains) in Portland OR have similar bike racks as well.
Minneapolis too, which coincidentally is second behind Portland for the number of bicycle commuters.
I really could have used this yesterday. I was at Market and Valencia with my bike, my bookbag, and a separate bag with a large frame with glass. I didn’t want to attempt to ride home and potentially break the frame.
I live in Glen Park and thought I would take the J home, since the Van Ness station was closest to me. Thankfully I remembered the “no bikes on light rail rule” and walked to the Civic Center station instead where I was able to take BART.
Really stupid rule… I’d be fine with it if they did like BART and had restricted hours for bikes on light rail.
@Stuart I also live in Glen Park, and pretty much had to write off the J as too unreliable, too inaccessible, and, yeah, no bikes! I’ve had a lot of success with the San Jose bike path, though. With bulky items, though, it’s just annoying…
The fact that they don’t even let FOLDING bikes on is patently ridiculous. =P
Solution? Have a folding bike, and put it in a bag before you get on. Nobody argues with you if you carry a bag — it’s only contraband if they know there’s a bicycle in it.
Jealous of not only the bike rack but also how clean that train is. Its beautiful. Anyone else ever had a bus driver scream at them over issues with a bike rack? A few months ago I had a bus driver get out and scream at me as I was riding away to “put the fucking rack back up!” even though I had already tried and it was stuck in the down position….which he figured out after his hissy fit.
Yeah, go down to Santa Clara County and check it out. I used to bike from Menlo Park to Mountain View, then take the VTA light rail all the way to San Jose, my bike hanging pendulously from the racks in the center of the car. One VTA car can hold 4 bikes suspended up by their wheels as well as 4 more standing on either side. Most of the time there are 2 cars for a total 16-bike capacity, which never seems to fill up. Imagine, if Muni used these cars, some of the longer trains–with 4 cars for instance–could hold 64 bikes. I think San Franciscans would appreciate that..