Bikes on BART, Day 1: All Signs Point to a Smooth Morning Commute

With bikes let loose on this morning's rush hour BART commute, all signs indicate that things went as smoothly -- if not better -- than usual. Our most recent search on the Twittersphere turns up not a single complaint, and reps from the East Bay and San Francisco Bicycle Coalitions, as well as BART, are reporting generally positive comments.

On a KQED radio forum this morning, East Bay Bike Coalition Executive Director Renee Rivera said one bike-to-BART commuter told her he had more room on his train, since he no longer had to compete with a backup of bike commuters that normally fills the cars up immediately after the end of the blackout period.

"He actually had an easier experience this morning," she said. "It was less crowded, and it made me realize we're actually distributing the bikes better throughout the system by allowing them during the commute hours."

Whether you commute with or without a bike, be sure to let BART know how your trip goes as the pilot runs through four more Fridays.

Check out more photos from this morning on the SF Bike Coalition's Flickr page, listen to the entire KQED forum here, and check out a video below just posted by BART.