TriMet has issued the results of bicycling related surveys they conducted last August via the web, and subsequently onboard MAX trains. Here is an executive summary of their executive summary:
Background:
According to a recent national study, integrating bikes and transit:
- Extends the range of transit
- Provides greater mobility options to customers at the beginning and end of their transit trips
- Has the potential to increase transit ridership
- Encourages cycling by giving cyclists the option of avoiding unsafe streets, hills, fatigue, and poor conditions (darkness and weather) if bikes are allowed onboard
- Has the potential to decrease congestion and help reduce air pollution by providing an alternative to driving
A Dutch government publication states: “The combination offers great advantages: the bicycle carries the traveller without any waiting from the front door to the station (which public transport generally cannot do) and public transport then takes the traveller quickly and comfortably over greater distances to the destination (which the bicycle does with difficulty). Thus the two modes resolve each others’ weaknesses, together forming a strong chain.”
…
The following planning and immediate actions are recommended:
Planning recommendations:
- Develop and implement a Bike Facilities Plan that includes extensive short-term and long-term bike parking at stations, including facilities for customers that need a bike at each end of their trip.
- Consider bike transport impacts in future MAX light rail service improvements and develop tools for predicting or modeling future multimodal demand.
- Explore options to provide additional bike-on-bus capacity and bike-to-bus facilities
Immediate actions:
During the planning and implementation phases, it will be necessary to increase the amount and improve the usage of existing facilities.
- Increase usage of existing bike lockers through more efficient management of the program and by relocating lockers to stations where usage is highest.
- Improve bike transport onboard MAX by making improvements to designated bike spaces, adding signage to specify that passengers allow cyclists to store their bikes in designated spaces, and make bike transport options in seating areas more flexible.
- Clarify customer information so that customers can better evaluate existing options including: how to transport bikes onboard, what kinds of conditions to expect, and bike parking. Partner with manufacturers and retailers to promote folding bikes.
- Make investments in bike parking where possible, given limited resources.
TriMet policies, plans and reports
Bike-MAX Survey 2007-2008
- Executive Summary (35KB PDF)
- Complete Survey (1.12MB PDF)
- Bikes-on-MAX FAQs (15KB PDF)