BIKES NOW OK DURING COMMUTE HOURS...
Or so it seems, judging by the number getting on and off during the evening hours, esp. the Richmond and Pittsburg-BP lines. If they're being ignored by the station agents, shouldn't BART be changing their literature and signage? Unfortunately, these people not only insist on take up the space of 4 people in crowded cars by sitting in the Senior and Disabled seats, but block the doorways, as well. WTF?
I could continue to question these people, but the last time I did almost came to blows with the guy and some a**hole patron from Lafayette who wasn't familiar with the rules either. Grrr...
Finally! Thats the way it
Finally! Thats the way it should be. Now move over and make some room for me and my bike. :)
You and your stinky ass need
You and your stinky ass need to respect the rules and board ONLY when you are allowed. It is a shame that BART employees don't "do their job" and keep you from even entering the station. The train operator should not have to enforce the rules if the station agents, sitting on their asses, would bar you from entering until the proper time.
What's the point in calling
What's the point in calling someone "stinky ass"? You, on the other hand, are clearly ignorant.
There are very few stations that don't allow bicycles in the anti-commute direction, so keeping them out is not possible. The two that come to mind are 12th Street and 19th Street, and I'd argue that these are due to a fantasy on the part of Oakland or BART politicians.
df
Hey butt lick, if the rules
Hey butt lick, if the rules call for no bicycles during commute hours, it is up to BART to enforce it. They made the rules, let them figure it out. I should not have to be inconvienenced by some tree hugging liberal asshole because he or she can't get up earlier or later. No, they have to push their little bicycle on to an already overcrowded train beacause they are ABOVE everyone else. This same asshole (probably like yourself) drove to the Bart station in their gas guzzling SUV in the commute lane with one passenger because, again, they are above the law. So, you, Mr or Miss Anonymous are the ignorant fuck. Oh, and congrats on passing the math question so you could post.
Well, Station Agents and
Well,
Station Agents and Train Operators do not "enforce" that rule.. BART Police must do that. Agents and Operators do many things that most people never see, but enforcing rules is not one.
Bike rules are enforcable with a California Vehicle Code (see the green brochure)
Also, Station Agents cannot see which trains people get on, remember trains go both ways. And Bikes are not allowed on only the commute direction during certain times of the day. From the booth an Agent would not delay a train to run up or down to the train to stop a bike.
If someone sees a bike on a train, do not confront them. Many of them have big attitudes. Simply goto another car and report it to the Train Operator. BART Police also need the reporting party to stick around so they have a complaintant.
So sad that people are quick to say that someone is not doing their job.. You should at least know what that job is, and what they do, instead of looking like a fool.
Train operators USED to
Train operators USED to enforce the rule, but apparently not any more. Two weeks ago, 5:45PM weekday, after a bicyclist came the train, the operator came on the intercom, "Would the gentleman who just boarded with the bicycle, please step back from the yellow tiles next time?"
Another clear sign that bicycles are OK.
And you're absolutely correct about many bicyclists have big attitudes. Only in NoCal do they get away with it...
there was on my train
there was on my train yesterday during commute hours coming into the city. the dude would not budge away from the door so people could exit the train. they always board the lead car and have to be told like five times by the T.O. that bikes are not allowed in the lead car. Then, they still don't hear it so the passengers start telling them. some of these guys are thick as a brick with their bikes.
Let's see ... you inform the
Let's see ... you inform the Train Operator of the situation and the Operator calls in BART police. If and when the perp is ever apprehended by BART police, why must you wait and be the complainant when the person has been caught in the act by the BART police?
I guess the police would
I guess the police would want you around in case the cyclist claims that he was not aware of the rule and that he did not hear the TO's announcement because the PA was broken, or did not notice the disgruntled passengers telling him not to get on, or because the headphones were on, or some other lame excuse. At that point, if he has never been contacted for the offense, the cyclist will simply be released. The cyclist may also reach a station that does not have the restriction by the time an officer intercepts the train, since the officer did not witness where the cyclist got on at, the station is now legit, and there is no witness, the cyclist walks. An individual who witnesses an offense needs to stick around so that the offender does not weasel his way out of a situation.
I posted the comment above
I posted the comment above yours. I knew my comment would get you going. ha. I love personal attacks on anonymous boards. What is that olympic joke?
Yes I use a bike on bart. I only board in the morning at the first allowable train or later. Most of the time it is a 9 car, meaning it is very empty. Sometimes it is split so it becomes a 5 car train. Its more crowded, but still room.
In the evening, about 6:00, I board in Oakland. Now of the three trains that go through there, only one is "legal" up to Bay Fair. I still usually board whatever the first one is. Want to know the reason why? The train is mostly empty. If not, there is another, mostly empty, train a few minutes behind it.
You have a bitch point on the heavy commute trains in the downtown areas (oakland and sf). Absolutely nobody should be on with a bike.
I just feel that when the train is nearly empty, I'll board and feel pretty certain there will be no problems.
I tend to believe that most people with bikes are quite considerate of other passengers. It just like driving on the highways around here. 100,000s of cars and we all really just notice the half a dozen jerks. For the most part, both systems work.
No bike allowed on BART.
No bike allowed on BART.
Good Grief! I have taken my
Good Grief! I have taken my bike on BART five days a week for over a year. On my commute home I ride when bikes are not supposed to be allowed. Why do I do so? Because 99.99% of the time the train is not crowded....if fact, often on weekends (when bikes have NO restrictions), the trains are MORE crowded.
Once, on a train when bikes were not restricted, the train was full due to a blocked tracked down the line, and I shared my seat with someone else, thus a person with a bike need take no more room then a person without a bike. Besides, I have seen people with luggage, which has NO restrictions, take a lot MORE room than a person with a bike! Get a grip people!
Luggage and strollers often
Luggage and strollers often take more space than a bicycle. That being said, sometimes cyclists are not very cooperative- sometimes just because they're twits, sometimes because they're very defensive, understandably, about the prejudice shown by the restrictions. Try carrying a bicycle up the stairs at some of the deep stations (or waiting for 5 minutes for an elevator). It's pretty clear that taking a bike on an escalator is safer for everyone than having a cyclist carry it on stairs.
I often take my bike and watch other cyclists, in any case. Getting to and from a BART station is often best done by cycle, and given the level of security given to bike parking, taking your bike with you is often desireable, even if you don't need your bike at the other end of the ride.
BART is, slowly and reluctantly, addressing some of this problem with the BikeLink eLockers and the BikeStations, but MTC and BART have exacerbated some of the problem by not funding and supporting connecting services.
BTW, I have three folding bicycles, so I can take my bike within the rules, at any time.
df
False. Bikes DO occupy more
False. Bikes DO occupy more space than luggage and strollers, especially when someone plops down in the seats next to the doors (taking up 2 seats) and parks their bike in front of them, occupying 2 more spaces.
If they stand with the bike, they take the space of 3 people standing. I don't remember seeing someone with enough luggage to take up the space of 4 people. I'm sure it happens, I just don't remember it.
Personally, I'm not opposed to bicycles on BART, although I find a number of bicyclists to be rude and inconsiderate. More people bicycling will help the environment and there should be ways to accommodate them. (I also believe there should be a 1-2% tax on all new bicycle sales to help accommodate bicycles on our roadways, but the backlash in Berkeley would put a quick stop to that--another subject).
Suggestion to BART:
1) set aside the last car (all trains, all hours) for bicycles
A number of bicyclists can't count the "last 2 cars of the train" so they get on any car they please.... Maybe I'm just easily baffled by people's behavior sometimes. :-)
False. Bikes do NOT take up
False. Bikes do NOT take up more space. For example, I almost always sit near the door. If the car is crowded, someone can, and has sat next to me. Also, in all the time I have been riding BART, I have never seen a person with a bike being rude. And finally, I am NOT a hippy, nor is most of the people I see with bikes.
Most adult sized bikes take
Most adult sized bikes take up more room than most strollers, unless you're riding a bike designed for a 3 year old or a unicycle, or the stroller in question is a 2 seater or a jogging stroller.
99% of the time I ride BART, it is with a stroller. I try not to block aisles (which really limits where I can sit or stand with the thing). I try my best not to cram myself into an already crowded train car with it either.
bicyclists are up their own
bicyclists are up their own asses because they think they are better than everyone else because they "save the air" by being a bunch of stinky ass hippies who take up too much space during commute hours.
I neither stink, nor am I a
I neither stink, nor am I a hippy. Obviously, you are an out-of-shape obese slob who has a problem with people more fit!
BART should just put a
BART should just put a complete ban on bikes and that should solve that issue. I'm going to send an email to the BART board suggesting that. Bikes DO NOT belong on transit.
Once again, there is NO
Once again, there is NO issue....except maybe idiots like yourself. Get a life buddy!
It would be nice if bicycle
It would be nice if bicycle passengers just could just follow the rules. I'm on my way down to the station the other night. Bicycle guy is trying to get change or something out of the machine saying "fcuk you" in tweaker voice everytime the machine didn't do what he wanted. Don't know what he was trying to do; I thought get change. Then I see him in the lead car on the train. The T/Os do not enforce the rules so why bother to tell them anything. If the T/O can't notice this big bike right outside, he shouldn't be driving the train.
"...they are better than
"...they are better than everyone else..."
I'm glad to see someone has finally realized our essential superiority.
way to selectively quote,
way to selectively quote, dipshit. maybe you have too much chain oil in your eyes to read the whole quote. i said they THINK they are better than everyone else. they have excessive levels of SMUGNESS and are arrogant assholes who need to fuck off.
Well said.
Well said.
Interesting, after reading
Interesting, after reading this thread yesterday morning I was treated to a rude ass bicyclist on the way home. He sat in the handicapped seating with his bike blocking the doorway and refused to get up when an old man with a cane boarded the train.
Yesterday, I young man in
Yesterday, I young man in his mid to late teens boarded at 6:30PM with a bike and took up three seats, both senior/disabled seats by the door and the adjacent aisle forward facing seat. A very big guy sat in the forward facing seat, plopped his bag in the empty seat next to him, and folded his legs inward because the floor space in front of him was taken up by the bike. People were standing and no one asked this kid to move his bike. As I was getting up I saw a senior woman and motioned for her to come take my seat. None of the young people, all taking up senior seats, offered her a seat and the biker just pretended he didn't see anyone.
Why don't people say something? there is no way in hell I'm going to stand up when some bicyclist is taking up multiple seats. I ask them to move the bike. And if they give you shit, you're supposed to contact the T/O. Bikes do not belong on BART. The people who ride them are just irresponsible.
okay, everyone chime in: why
okay, everyone chime in:
why didn't *you* say something??
-to the offending person
-to the train operator
-to a bard board director
-to a station agent (and get a customer complaint card, while you're at it)
-to someone other than yourself, wondering why noone does anything about it??
quit complaining to us and do something, whether it's your decision not to ride bart anymore or shoot the offenders.
You are right but here's the
You are right but here's the deal. I'm not standing up if there's a seat available that's taken up by a bike. I will say something so can sit down. It's not my job to make sure others have a seat if one is available. If other people aren't willing to stand up for themselves, I'm not going to do that, I'm not fighting that battle for them. The exception is for seniors or disabled. If you were ever on a train where someone yelled, and I mean yelled, "could somone please give this person their seat," that was me. I'm not doing that for some able-bodied adle-brained person who is too chicken to speak up. I am a senior and even though I would have given up my seat to the woman who was obviously older and more frail, I did't see her until I got up because she was at the other end of the car. Smart ass.
Last night, another bike on
Last night, another bike on a commute hour train. Taking up two disabled/senior seats. People standing, no one told him to move over. No seniors standing this time.
Well, maybe this is because
Well, maybe this is because Mr. Biker has a more serious, but less obvious, disability of his own ... in his head.
I think that the cyclists
I think that the cyclists should not be rude, and should be considerate of the train congestion during the commute hours.
However, for those saying the bikes should be banned and that they "do not belong on transit"... What are you thinking?? What is the point of mass transit??
I personally do not want to park my car at the BART stations, nor do I want to drive there.
I want to eliminate the car from my daily work commute. Bike, and BART that is all.
I don't want to have to leave my house at 5AM jsut because a bunch of people that drove to the BART station think that I am a problem. Why should someone that chose to drive have a lifestyle advantage over me??
I always make the best effort to take up as little space as possible. Other cyclist should as well.
The best solution would be a cyclist car added to the commute hour trains or some other accomodations.
I've seen this from both
I've seen this from both sides since I've taken my bike on BART at times (never crowded ones). And the bike definitely takes up the space of at least two additional people since I'm guessing most adult bikes are in the range of being around 60" (5 feet) or more. I mean most adult bikes have 26" wheels and the two wheels alone add up to 52". Plus with handlbars and pedals it puts it around a foot wide at some parts of the bike. When people are packed in like sardines and bikers come on it takes significant space and causes resentment.
So I don't know what kind of weed the biker is smoking when he say it doesn't take up any space, or only the space of one person.
I know many bikers try to be considerate and stay as much out of the way as possible and I respect that. In fact is hard to find a place to put your bike that isn't in the way to some extent because of the size. The ones that stand directly in front of doors can be bad (especially since the doors alternate opening on different sides so it's hard to stay on the unused side), blocking the handicapped/elderly seats is bad, blocking the aisle is bad. It's never clear what the best place to put a bike is unless the train is pretty empty.
I often end up riding a train just after the forbidden bike hours stop and so there are tons of bikers on my train lots of times. I observed 3 bikers in a group standing directly in front of the doors so people couldn't get in and out and had to walk all the way across the train to the other set of doors. I've seen bikers playing "pop a wheelie" and lifting their bike up and down on a medium crowded train, I've had bikers not keep a hold of their bike and have it fall over and bash directly into my shins again on a train that is standing room only and a number of people are standing. Many are fine, but I've seen enough problem bike-riders that I avoid entering at any doors where I see bikers waiting since I don't want to deal with the possibility of them being an idiot, even if most aren't.
Though I ride a bike, I'm sometimes ashamed to admit it because of observing the arrogance of some bikers in the bay area. I almost got run down by 3 bikers on a trail in the Marin headlands. This was a trail clearly marked with NO BIKES, NO PETS signs and which had steep and narrow stair-step sections. But of course they are closer to nature than anyone else so the rules apparently didn't apply to them. I also see them riding against traffic direction in crosswalks at times and then get angry when drivers have difficulty seeing them them since drivers are not looking for people going at high speeds in the crosswalks against the direction of traffic. Again, they seem to think that any rules don't apply to them and that being close to the earth means not having to pay any attention to the rules and they're above it all.
Keep biking since it's a good thing for you and for that planet. Just as long as you're not a stuck up ignoramus. Then the biking seems to make you think you have special powers and can defy the rules and common sense that apply to everyone else, but not to you.
This bitch on a Richmond
This bitch on a Richmond train last night got on the train in SF before 6PM, muscled her way ahead of people standing in line, took up three seats, two disabled, with her, her bike and her "stuff." Someone claimed one seat but no one challenged her to move her backpack and her bike from the other seat so they could sit down. By the time the train got to the transbay tube, it was packed.
Of course the T/O said nothing. It really makes you appreciate the T/Os who order bikers off when you get a T/O who is asleep at the switch.
By the weay, I've nearly been hit numerous times in SF crosswalks by bikes running red lights.
the guy on the fremont train
the guy on the fremont train at 10:00 am this morning i'm sorry i know this is off topic but did anyone see the crazy dude on the fremont at 10:00 this morning he kept saying i'm sorry because he saw somethin in this ladies suit casae and he said "whats that a bomb" did anyone see him he kept saying how sorry he was and how he was abondoned a a child did anyone see him?
Did anyone call BART Police
Did anyone call BART Police about this poor guy? He was obviously quite disturbed.
no sadly no one was willing
no sadly no one was willing to do anything about the guy it was weird at first but then i thought about it deeper and i felt really sorry for the guy but no one called bart police
No one wants to mess with
No one wants to mess with crazy fuckers like this.