MARC should (and must) allow bikes

Maryland's MARC commuter rail system is one of only two in the nation with a blanket ban on non-folding bicycles.

The picture in the article is that of a Gallery car, the type VRE uses. VRE designed it's new gallery cars to have space for bikes - where the fold-up seats are. However, I don't think MARC's Kawasaki cars have room for bikes.

http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post.cgi?id=4246

I think it's a great idea but they would get a lot of complaints.
As I've said MARC seems to have a slightly more homogeneous passenger mix than many commuter rail systems. I think they would get too many complaints from who they see as their bread and butter - federal workers expecting a comfy seat if they show up 10-15 minutes before departure - if they had to hustle past bikes, too. (of course, yes, I know a handful of those fed. workers would like to take their bikes, but most of the ride metro or walk) It's already bad enough with BWI-bound luggage on the 534 (5:20pm). The top of the AC cabinet is always stuffed. The 4:24pm is standing room until Odenton sometimes, the 5:20 until BWI, and the 6 is sometimes less crowded sometimes not. I'm not sure how bikes could safely fit in a crowded bilevel without something really creative. Still I hope there is a way they could work it out. Presumably they have someone thinking about it if they are legally obligated? I think the only policy that would work is to allow them on the less crowded very late morning train and very late evening train...the other lines don't even have that kind of a schedule. (I've ridden Camden once for the heck of it, and never Brunswick, so I can't speak to the crowding on those but assume they are pretty packed too)

Maybe Thule makes an AEM-7/HHP-8 top bicycle rack? Grounded for safety?

This would be a great idea on off peak trains.

During rush hour, if Marc can't even get seats for everyone, I don't see how they could ever offer bike storage.

this was one of my pet peeves when I lived along the south shore line, but.. I think their primary concern on top of packed trains was the low-level boarding and time that could be lost on the schedule if 10 bikes are loading on a low-level platform.

I think they could allow some in the handicapped areas of the single-level cars during off peak hours. Of course, it would be very difficult to create a uniform rule about that.

What is clear is that MARC should try to think of ways to have "flexible space" for future rolling stock that could allow for bike storage. As a biker who takes MARC I'd like it but I can't see it as a priority for the service. (But I also work walking distance from Union--I imagine some people working out a little more and not on the Red Line would love to bring their bike... but, Union Station now has bike storage that people can pay for if they only need bikes on the DC leg.

An option MARC could do is to remove some seats off their single level Kawasaki cars, and put one of these cars on every train. A good choice for the bike friendly car would be a cab car. If this is not possible, they could buy some new combination baggage/passenger cars.

Not going to happen, there aren't enough seats for the folks that ride now.

Now, if we could get some extra cars, that would be an option but I'm not aware of any plans in the works to do that.

electricron wrote:An option MARC could do is to remove some seats off their single level Kawasaki cars, and put one of these cars on every train. A good choice for the bike friendly car would be a cab car. If this is not possible, they could buy some new combination baggage/passenger cars.

Combination of baggage and passenger cars, maybe it's possible. Yeah, it's a good choice for the bike friendly car would be a cab car. Your option is to remove some seats off their single level Kawasaki cars, and put one of these cars on every train, maybe it is possible.

Caltrain has "bike cars" (afaik the only one), but San Francisco prob. has a higher percentage of cyclists than any other major city. I just don't think its practical for MARC, or most other commuter agencies. As HokieNav said there isn't even enough space for commuters on some trains. Maybe more provisions could be made on existing cars if space constraints are eased, but having an entire car (or even half of a car) on every train just for bicycles to me seems unnecessary.

It doesn't have to be half a car, with vertical bike racks, you can have room for 6 bikes for every two seats (1 row of seats per side) removed. You could even put in flip seats for passenger use or place tie downs for an extra wheelchair when there are no bikes hanging from the rack.



All MARC would have to do is estimate how many bikes they need to accommodate per train, then remove just that many seats from their single level cars......

Once again.

There is no way that seats are coming out of railcars. Every rush hour train is standing room only. Less seating on already overcrowded trains is not an option.