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Some of you have already seen this, I am mainly posting it so we have a convenient place in the archives to reference it - http://www.mail-archive.com/bike%40list.bcdv.org/ 1 - Have you ever taken a bike on a SEPTA vehicle Yes 38 No 9 1A - If No explain why you haven't Does not meet my travel needs 5 Don't know how 4 Don't care to 1 Haven't had the chance yet 1 Comments Dont Know How Wasn't sure about the bike policy so I erred on the side of caution. Does not meet my travel needs I do not us SEPTA because I live in NJ 2 - If so which type of vehicle have you used (Check all that apply) Regional Rail 35 MFL-Subway 21 Route 100 10 Bus with bike rack 3 Comments Regional Rail I've only taken Regional Rail with a folding bike 3 - How often do you take your bike on SEPTA Occasionally Less than once a month -16 At least once a month - 10 Ar least a few times a week -5 Rarely Less than once a year - 3 At least once a week - 1 4 - For what trip purpose do you take bike on SEPTA Recreation -21 Work -19 Shopping/Errands 16 Visit friends or relatives-2 Flat Tire-1 When it rains-1 Entertainment Event - 1 Surveyors Note - A recent SEPTA riders survey found that only 1-2% of trips taken on SEPTA are for recreation CommentsErrands - To pick up car from wife's business
5 - How would you complete a typical trip if you could not take your bike on board SEPTA 29 Transit Choices were selected Walk to Transit 17 Bicycle to Transit 10 Drive to Transit 1 Get a ride to Transit 1 39 Non Transit Choices were selected Bicycle 20 Drive 12 Would get a ride 1 Walk 8 15 Would not take the Trip Comments Bicycle - 1-That depends on whether I need to go during peak hours when I'm not allowed to take my bike on the train -- if I need to go during peak hours, I'll just ride instead of take the train Drive - 1-Would rent a car if it was too far to bicycle Would not take the trip - 1 - Recreational trips
6 - How far away do you live from the transit stop/station Less than One Half Mile -16 More than 2 miles 12 1/2-2 miles -9
6A (optional)-How from away from the transit stop/station is your most common destination 1/2-2 miles -9 More than two miles - 7 Less than One Half Mile-3
7 - How would you rate the difficulty of taking your bike each of these vehicles from 1- 5 with 1 being the easiest if you dont know leave it blank Route 100 - 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 3 – 1.9 Subway/MFL - - 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 - 2.6 Regional Rail - 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 4 4 4 5 - 2.75 Bus with bike rack - 1 1 1 3 3 5 5 5 – 3 Comments Bus with Bike Rack 1-Don't know how to use the bike racks on the buses! Would use NJT bus with bike rack if I knew how to get my bike attached on there! Regional Rail 1-This varies a bit by station 2-Would be easy if drivers opened back door instead of making me walk the aisle 3-The steps are very steep when boarding in the suburbs. So, even though my bike is very light, trying to pull myself and an unweilding 17lbs up those steps and to the left or right is usually an acrobatic feat. Once I arrive in the city, however, the platform is the same level as the train and very accessible. 4-Hassle to push bike throught the entire length of rail car. best if know where the bike will go and perhaps those fold up seats. Subway/MFL 1-Train easy, but no place to put bike, hard to get through turnstyles Route 100 1-Would be easy if drivers opened back door instead of making me walk the aisle 8 - Have you ever brought your bike on the following Carrier sPATCO 15 NJ Transit Rail 11 Peter Pan/Greyhound 11 Amtrak Boxed - 7 NJ Transit Bus 5 Amtrak Bike and Baggage Car 4 Airlines-4 Other US Bus systems-3 Long Island RR 2 Metro North 2 NYC Subway 2 DC Metro - 2 Other US Rail systems - 2 Amtrak with Folding Bike - 1 European trains - 1 Comments Peter Pan Greyhound 1 -Peter Pan- refused in 1993 2 - Another hassle for the differing policies between bus stations regarding boxing requirements. 3 - Yes, but they hassled me and I had to yell to get them to comply with their own bike rules as stated on their website NJT Rail - Excellent Experience but I had to stand because there was no bike rackOther (Specify) Amtrak Bike and Baggage Car No, because they were complete jerks when I tried Refused by conductor even though I had a ticket (Received transportation credit and I was carried on the next train) 9 - What future amenities would you like to see on SEPTA Note scores were rated as one point if the it was not deleted and two points if there was an X next to it. Peak Hour Rail Access - 46 More Bike Racks on Buses - 36 More Bike Lockers - 33 A downtown Bike Station with shower, repair and parking facilities -31 Bike Lanes to major stations 20 Having a secure place to store your bike on trains -20 Other 1 -All in #9 are needed and should be provided ASAP! 2 -Easy roll-on access wide doors essentially wheelchair accessible 3 -Secure Bike racks at stations, easier ability to take bikes on trains (more than one bike per rail car gets crowded and tends to block the aisle), 4- Friendlier attitude towards bikes, easier to get bikes onto trains (you ever tried to carry a bike up the Regional Rail car steps??). 5-Forget the bike racks and bike lanes I'd be happy for truly secure bike racks/parking at train stations and secure bike parking throughout the city as well) 6-There is no reason that Septa couldn't permit peak hour access. The New york subway system currently permits 24 hour access and is far more congested and densely traveled than Septa. This policy has operated with great success there for more than two years 7-Bike-friendly (ie. wider) entrances/exits at all subway stops 8 - EDUCATE BUS DRIVERS NOT TO DRIVE IN THE BIKE LANE ADJACENT TO BUS ROUTES, PUSHING BIKERS OFF OF THE ROAD 9-Having a secure place to store your bike on trains - This would help some. I'm more interested in conductors opening the door closest to where They want the bike to be placed. 10-Peak Hour rail access (Bike racks on trains) - This would definitely cause my ridership of SEPTA regional rail to skyrocket. Most of the time I don't ride the train because I can't take my bike with me when I need to, and instead I ride. Whether or not that's good depends on who you are, I suppose. If you're SEPTA, I'd guess that would be bad since you're missing out on my cash. If you're me, well, it's good for my health, but a hassle sometimes. 11 - Racks on *all* busses used on a given route is more important than token applications to suburban feeders, the Owl services are the most critical. 12 - Better space on trains. They should install folding seats. The space could be used for bikes and luggage when needed and then for passengers to sit peak hours. Common in rest of world and even USA. Other (Specify) 13 - I think the greatest improvement that could be made is adding peak period service in the outbound direction to all area rail systems. These trains are normally near empty but because I am travelling during "rush hour" I can't bring my bike. 14-I don't know what you mean by "secure". What is needed is a designated place for bikes so bikes don't have to go the length of a car through the narrow aisle. A large enough space would also make bike + SEPTA trips more attractive because you wouldn't worry about not being able to get on. This would also help with peak hour access 15 -Bike Lockers are needed at the three downtown and major suburban stations - not every station, but the key end-points and junctions. 16- SEPTA policy should reflect "guarateed ride home", not at the expense of other passengers, but not requiring the conductor to get permission for more than two bicycles per train (vs per car). Proivding Bike 17 - BIKE LANES, BIKE LANES, BIKE LANES. It's tough battling it out with cars, bike lanes ease the pain and cut the "get off the road!" screams. 18-Not having to walk with bike to far end of train
Complaints, Compliments, Favorite Trip etc I have only used SEPTA with my bike in an emergency, when I may have a flat or thunderstorms are upon us. I don't feel like I am encouraged to take my bike on the train at crowded times as the attitude towards me when I need to bring my bike on the train during non-crowded times is apathetic at BEST. My office (start trip) is 1/2 mile from the Wilmington Station My home is about 6 miles from Marcus Hook (return trains don't go to Delaware) The SEPTA conductors seem much more used to bicycles and are more helpful now than they were in 1995. On occasion it was confusing when I boarded a non peak train in Wilmington and one conductor told me in Philadelphia it was a peak train - I wasn't supposed to have the bicycle. (Evidently, it was non-peak for the inbound portion of the trip, but switched to peak as it left Center City and continued to Conshohocken. He did let me continue until my destination anyway.) Secure bicycle parking/lockers in Philadelphia would be good, but since my destinations (Art Museum; 4th & Monroe; Catherine St.) are not easy walking distance of the SEPTA stations, lockers at train stations probably wouldn't help much. One of the primary advantages of SEPTA that SEPTA has many stops. With the bicycle, I can arrive at one stop and depart from another (unllike Amtrak, which only has one stop). Also, I don't have to return to the same station I leave from as I would if I parked at the SEPTA station (a critical advantage given limited evening service to Delaware.) In general, this makes bicycle lockers a non-SEPTA issue. In general, my experience with the bicycle lanes in Philadelphia is not positive. I did not have significant problems before the bicycle lanes were installed (e.g. 1993?). Since then, I have had a number of drivers tell me to get out of the traffic lane and ride in the #$@# bicycle lane, a problem when I want to make a left turn or when only 1 road at an intersection has a bicycle lane and I want to use another road. I refuse to restrict my destinations to those served by bicycle lanes. Generally I have found SEPTA employees very receptive to bikes on transit. No major problems. I have taken my bike many times on PATCO. It is very convenient for getting in to center city. I usually go on weekends, though, for recreational reasons. It is an easy ride out to BF Parkway, West River Drive, to Manayunk, and the VF trail. You need a license for some reason, but it is only five dollars and easy to get. The PATCO cops actually check for the licenses, too. The restricted hours for bikes are understandable, given the crowds on the train at rush hour. Perhaps, though, one car could be bike-friendly during rush hour on each train. It is otherwise tough to bike into center city from our side of the river. The ride through Camden can be a problem, with bad streets and broken glass everywhere, not to mention the dogs. Once you get to the Ben Franklin Bridge, it is not too bad. I live 4 blocks from the Collingswood PATCO station and make regular trips to Philadelphia - my most frequent transfer is either to the MFL or to the R7 at Market East. My trips are primarily only to destinations within walking distance of the the stations. If i was more familiar with the bike policy I would use it much more often. I'm interested to know how the repair facilities (Bike Station) would work/look. I heve never seen a bike rack on a Septa Bus (2 Comments) I really like how buses are starting to have the exhaust pipe on the LEFT side of the rear of the bus so when I'm stopped in traffic I don't faint from exhaust fumes. Even better than that? Buses that have the pipe to the left and on the TOP of the bus. It seems that SEPTA, GREYHOUND, and AMTRAK try to appear as if they are bike-friendly. If you consult their websites or main offices, the info. sounds great. However, their clerks and baggage handlers, in my experience, have no clue what the rules are and try everything they can to prevent people from boarding with bikes. They have told me at various times that bikes aren't allowed, that there are no bike boxes available, that I have to completely disassemble my bike, and that I can't travel on the same train with my bike. If they genuinely want to encourage ridership by people who are committed to pub NJ Transit, on the other hand, is always helpful and I find that it is very easy to get on their trains with my bike. THe only difficulty is that the trains are often crowded, so I have no place for the bike. Going between New York and Philadelphia on NJ transit is great. It's nearly impossible to take a bike through the gated exits at septa subway stations Conductors and staff seem to be erratically trained. Some ask you to walk the length of a car to to park your bike at the far end while others tell you to walk along outside the train and open the far door for you. Fundamentally I can get my bike on and off, usually witout arguement, but I have occasionally had to show the conductor a printout of the SEPTA bike policies before they would let me on. This is particularly annoying when you have used the train outbound and you are trying to get on the same train to go home and they so "You can't do that." This particular problem hasn't happend for a while, but it is awfully annoying when it does. I've been cut off by several SEPTA buses. I wonder what would happen if I got creamed by one? I live in the suburbs, but would like to bring my bike into the city with me on the weekends and on some weekdays. However, I've heard nothing but horror stories from fellow cyclists when they have tried to enter a SEPTA train with their bike. Apparently, the conductor has ultimate rein over their train and can subjectively exclude you from entering with your bike. This is the main reason that I refuse to ride SEPTA and bring my bike with me into the city. For now, in my opinion, when I choose to bring my bike downtown, I must drive into the city and park my car in a public lot. I live in New Jersey. I have had the occasion of taking a bike on the Septa around a year ago. I used my folding bike. When I use my folding bike I use it to go to Bridgeport, CT (ride 6 miles to the Greyhound in Mt Laurel, NJ to Port Authority NYC ride the folder to Grand Central, METRO North to Bridgeport, CT and 6 Mile up hill to where I am going) More should be publicized about the benefits of Folders on Public transportation. They really are more practical. My folder is a cheap DAHON that is over 15 years old that really doesn't ride that well. The only problem that I had was walking the small folder through the Gallery from the Septa stop to the Patco stop. I was stopped by the guard. The gallery is a natural walking way between the two train stops. I am generally very pleased with the variety of choices for public transit offered to me by SEPTA here in Lansdowne-train, busses and trolleys. As an advocate for a better > cycling infrastructure I encourage SEPTA to consider the above mentioned suggestions making our region better for cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists (SEPTA drivers too). I think an important issue to address is the treatment by conductors, they are not always very nice to a person bringing a bike on the train. I can't tell you how many time they've watched my girlfriend struggle trying to get her bike on the train, and the conductors just watched not offering any help, and making it very clear they are not happy about bikes on trains 3rd and Race to 11th and Market - daily - bike on transit not an issue. Center City to Havertown - 3 evenings/week - would use bike for segements of trip if 1) could take bike on el during evening rush hour and 2) bus routes on West Chester Pike had racks I feel the biggest challenge facing people who bring bikes on SEPTA are SEPTA transit operators who do not know the rules. Rules should be clearly written and posted in EVERY transit stop, including at bus shelters/stops, and printed on business card-sized hand-outs that can be shown to drivers, etc. Get the word out and they will come - with bikes!
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