Note: Metropolitan Shuttle, a leader in bus shuttle rentals, regularly sponsors coverage on Streetsblog San Francisco and Streetsblog Los Angeles. Unless noted in the story, Metropolitan Shuttle is not consulted for the content or editorial direction of the sponsored content.
But thanks to pressure from advocates at BIKES ONBoard (BOB), the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition (SVBC), and the SFBC to provide more space for bikes on the new trains, Caltrain has agreed to take another look at the issue.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, the Caltrain Citizens Advisory Committees and the Bicycle Advisory Committee will hold a work session to figure out a configuration that can meet the promised one bike space for each eight seats. "Basically, Caltrain is trying to limit reconfiguration to only two or three bike cars," wrote Shirley Johnson, who formed BOB to help advocate for bike space on BART and Caltrain, in an email to Streetsblog. "But we need four or more to meet the board-mandated 8:1 ratio of seats-to-bike-spaces and simultaneously get enough seats within view of bikes to deter bike theft."
Below is one of BOB's recommended configurations, which differs sharply from what's currently planned for the new trains:
Beyond the ratio of bike spaces, BIKES ONBoard, the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition, and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition are taking issue with Caltrain designs that have riders store their bikes on the lower level, but sit in the upper level or at the ends of the car, with no view of their bikes. As Streetsblog reported previously, advocates say this is like ringing the dinner bell for bike thieves.
"Caltrain has the opportunity to potentially reconfigure train layout to address bike theft on-board," wrote the SVBC's Emma Shlaes, in a blog post about the issue. "Bike security, on and off board, is the number one concern of SVBC and our members, as this will determine the comfort and convenience of being able to bike to and from Caltrain."
Caltrain's current configuration options segregate bike space from seats with dedicated bike cars. Image: Caltrain
According to documents for the meeting, Caltrain staff will provide large drawings of the new EMU (electric multiple unit) cars. Attendees will be asked to arrange seats, seats with tables, and bike racks in the cars.
Johnson has posted more details on the configuration options here.
Poles and other infrastructure and work is now visible along the route as Caltrain moves toward electrification; the new trains cars are on the way. Cycling advocates want Caltrain to include enough space for riders who need their bikes on both ends of their commutes. Today, cyclists sometimes get "bumped," and have to take a later train, if there aren't adequate spaces available.
Caltrain asks riders to report when they are bumped so that the railroad can quantify how much space it needs for bikes moving forward. They have a "bump" report online which breaks down which stations and trains experience the most bumps.