BART Warms Up to Cyclists With New "Bike Friday" Rule

BART is bending the rules a bit this month, saying bikes are welcome on trains any hour of the day on Fridays, including during the crowded and stressful commute crush.

Currently, bikes are persona non grata on trains during commute hours for obvious reasons -- they take up too much damn space.

But starting tomorrow -- and every Friday in August -- BART will run a fun experiment, allowing bikes on trains during the morning and evening commute -- just to see what happens.

"Bicycling is booming on both sides of the bay," says Leah Shahum, Executive Director of the 12,000-member San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, which worked alongside BART and the East Bay Bicycle Coalition to shape this pilot. "Allowing bikes on BART during peak commute hours opens up cross-bay travel by bike."

This pilot program -- which is already proving to be successful in New York City -- is part of BART's 2012 Bicycle Plan, aimed to double its bike mode share over the next 10 years with better on-site bike parking, improved in-station circulation for bikes, and better bike access in neighborhoods with BART stations.

Rest assured, commuters, BART plans to keep close tabs on how passengers are affected by the incoming bikes over the next month, and gather all of your feedback. If all goes well, perhaps we will start seeing more cyclists with bikes in tow.

In the meantime, the Bike Coalition gives these common sense tips on how to ensure trial period is more bearable for us all:

• If the car is full, wait for another train and do not try to wedge a bike into a crowded car.

• Refrain from holding doors to get your bike inside, as we all know this delays the train.

• Be mindful of your fellow riders and leave other people adequate space (please)

• Use the designated "bike space" on the cars that have it.

• And finally, yield to pregnant, disabled, and elderly passengers.

Now watch this:
 

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