Your city buses with bike racks?

European experience --- a few buses here in Aberystwyth, tiny town on the edge of Wales, have bike racks. But I have not yet worked out which ones. It seems random, but could be particular routes I suppose. I've never seen them on the buses that go out to the village where I live so I haven't been able to take advantage of it. I'd love a bike friendly bus service for those days when it's nice to cycle in the morning, but then torrential rain when heading home after work.

Also didn't see bike racks on any of the buses around Essex (north of London) when I lived over there. Bikes were allowed on trains (though no racks to put them in) but restricted to folding bikes only within the main commuter belt for London during peak times.

Apparently it's illegal under New Zealand law for buses to have bike racks. I believe cycling advocates have prompted a reconsideration of the law, but nothing has actually happened yet. And bus companies in our town are private (with public subsidy), so presumably they won't install bike racks unless they want to or local ordinances require them to.

In short, I'm not holding my breath. But it certainly would be nice to skip the headwind on the 10-mile ride into town once in a while!

Mentioned this discussion to another friend here in Wales. Apparently the long distance buses did have bike racks, but drivers were not allowed to instruct or help in their use and passengers were only allowed to use them at end-point stops (meaning you can get on the bus here in Aberystwyth, but you won't be able to take the bike off again until you get to Bangor and then only if you know how to use the racks without the help of the driver). Needless to say the bike racks were never used and have now been mostly removed from the buses.

The bus in Honolulu have racks on, about half of the fleet have space for two, most of the new buses have racks for 3, a lot of the time all of the spaces are taken which is great :)

Probably any jurisdiction that doesn't have bike racks on buses, means it would have been illegal...though I am uncertain if our motor vehicle legislation defines what type of apparatus would be attached to a vehicle/bus..

If Honolulu has racks on bikes, this should give even more incentive for something similar in Australia.

Northstar, I've never had a Minneapolis bus driver help me load my bike on a rack.

But, we have two racks on every bus and VERY often they are full. Especially on the buses that run between Minneapolis and St. Paul. Sometimes, if there is room, the driver will let you bring the bike on the bus, but it is rare when there is room.

I've seen people wait for two or three buses come by before there is room for a bike on a rack during rush hour.

RIPTA buses have 2 bike racks on them, which I've only used a couple of times. The first time, the bus driver mentioned the new racks are much better than the old racks, and hardly any bikes fall off anymore :eek:. He happened to say this while we were going over the bridge, which is really bumpy because of the expansion joints. I suspect he didn't like having the racks there. I have to say, the bumpiness made me very nervous for my bike, and I spent the ride worrying I had not secured it properly (since the driver didn't help), and that I left my saddle bag open (which I didn't, but wouldn't be unlike me :o).

The other thing is that they get used a lot, so there's a chance I could not get a space, which would leave me waiting for more than an hour for the next bus, with no alternative since the bridge is non cycling. I decided it wasn't worth the wear and tear on my bike, the stress of imagining it falling off, or the chance of not getting home for hours, to take the bus on a regular basis. The bus is also more expensive than driving, even with the bridge toll. I drive to the park and ride instead.

It is good to have the option for when my car is in the shop, though.

So crazycanuck, any movement on bus bike racks?

Any more municipalities not yet names in this list of local buses with bike racks?

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Originally Posted by Thorn

Milwaukee County added racks a while back. It was quite the political mess.

Due to grant money, the county had to come up only 10% of the money to install the racks. 90% of the cost was "found money". For the $40K that the county needed to pay, the county supervisor vetoed the installation of the bike racks.

Needless to say the county board overruled the veto and now the buses have racks. And they're being used. Perhaps not as much as Mr Anti-Bike Supervisor would like, but they are used.

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And what could that former county executive be up to these days? Oh yeah, that's right he's the governor who just cut all bike funding in the state, moved transit money into the general fund( which some think will cause that to disappear). And then there's that teacher thing. So sad in a state with a great start on a biking infrastructure.

Sorry to rant/ hijack...but was reading the old messages to make sue MKE was listed as having bike racks. And saw this story (which I didn't know)

Our bus services are provided by private companies under contract to the regional council. This year, for the first time, they're making bike racks on the buses a condition of the contracts (a handful of routes come up for contract renewal each year).

I'm part of the local bike-advocacy group that has been lobbying for this change, and I'm one of the people who'll be trying to work with the regional council (where they seem to have only vague notions of why anybody would want to ride either a bike or a bus) and the bus companies on the implementation of the plan.

Negotiating this kind of bureaucracy on the one hand makes me want to claw my eyes out with a blunt pencil, but on the other hand it's a potentially very positive step because the hills in this town deter a lot of potential bike commuters. Wish me luck--and if you have advice or experiences to share, I'd like to hear them.

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Originally Posted by korora

Our bus services are provided by private companies under contract to the regional council. This year, for the first time, they're making bike racks on the buses a condition of the contracts (a handful of routes come up for contract renewal each year).

I'm part of the local bike-advocacy group that has been lobbying for this change, and I'm one of the people who'll be trying to work with the regional council (where they seem to have only vague notions of why anybody would want to ride either a bike or a bus) and the bus companies on the implementation of the plan.

Negotiating this kind of bureaucracy on the one hand makes me want to claw my eyes out with a blunt pencil, but on the other hand it's a potentially very positive step because the hills in this town deter a lot of potential bike commuters. Wish me luck--and if you have advice or experiences to share, I'd like to hear them.

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The main thing I've found about the whole advocacy things is to keep doing it and keep trying to increase your fold... and to remember that most of the Bike Muggles out there really don't understand, and accept and work with that.

Yes, Seattle's buses have them but don't expect the drivers to help you out if you've never used one. I tried to put my road bike on one last week, not having used one before and was really struggling. It took me a good 2 minutes of trying without success, and the driver finally honked at me and yelled that she had to go, which left me with very nasty thoughts in my head and no bike on the bus.

Fortunately, the metro website has a video showing how to load your bike onto the rack, and I watched it while waiting for another bus to show up, having success the second time.

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Originally Posted by VeganBikeChick

Yes, Seattle's buses have them but don't expect the drivers to help you out if you've never used one. I tried to put my road bike on one last week, not having used one before and was really struggling. It took me a good 2 minutes of trying without success, and the driver finally honked at me and yelled that she had to go, which left me with very nasty thoughts in my head and no bike on the bus.

Fortunately, the metro website has a video showing how to load your bike onto the rack, and I watched it while waiting for another bus to show up, having success the second time.

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Same here! I was lucky that another bus commuter was willing to show me how to do it, but the bus driver was not helpful. It is easy once you know how, but the first time, egads, stressful.

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Originally Posted by VeganBikeChick

Yes, Seattle's buses have them but don't expect the drivers to help you out if you've never used one. I tried to put my road bike on one last week, not having used one before and was really struggling. It took me a good 2 minutes of trying without success, and the driver finally honked at me and yelled that she had to go, which left me with very nasty thoughts in my head and no bike on the bus.

Fortunately, the metro website has a video showing how to load your bike onto the rack, and I watched it while waiting for another bus to show up, having success the second time.

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I guess I was luckier than you. The first time I tried to load a bike I couldn't do it. I was practically in tears with frustration. A young college student (Female) appeared and showed me how to do it, lucky for me a LOT of people were boarding the bus so i didn't hold anyone up.

I live in Long Beach, CA, where buses have racks for THREE bikes on the front, and we have a strong & growing cycling community, so sometimes those racks are full, especially on the less bike-friendly streets.

I too had to learn how to use them on my own. I believe bus drivers are not allowed to PHYSICALLY help you due to workers' compensation rules in case they hurt their back or something; however, I see no reason why they can't give you verbal directions.

Anyhow, now that I'm riding with an aluminum frame instead of a steel one, getting my bike on and off the bus is a breeze.