I can understand the Embarcadero reverse commute rule, but odds are the drivers and station attendants know that this particular rule exists to keep people from trying to squeeze bikes onto already-crowded trains and if there is enough space then there is really no need to enforce it. Passengers giving cyclists a hard time on trains that aren’t full are just being assholes.

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Also, cyclists using the lack of enforcement to squeeze bikes onto crowded trains are also assholes.

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jeff Reply:
September 3rd, 2009 at 2:15 pm

ha! yes, and nice “both sides”-ing of you ;)

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Don’t forget they also have the no bikes rule cycling(unintentional pun!) through those signs that say when the next train is coming. As well as posted in select BART cars and highlighted on the schedules posted in the stations. I always get forced into reading all that crap when I forget a book.

I also agree with Erik, well said.

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Jesus. SF would be a nice town if it weren’t so full of waspish cunts.

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Wow, isn’t Dan a ray of brilliant sunshine!

Sheesh.

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Keep in mind I write all this as someone who brings a bike onto BART often enough. BART needs to do a better job educating all commuters – bike riders and those who don’t ride – about how to deal with bikes on trains. Mainly for riders, they need to educate about the simple stuff – don’t bring a bike onto a crowded car or a car likely to get crowded (i.e. a middle-car for those getting on commute hour trains at stations where they can board with a bike), don’t take up extra seats with your bike when a train is getting crowded. The only rule ever really enforced is “no bikes on lead cars”. The other rule that needs some enforcing is “no bikes on escalators”.

Non-riders need to know when bikes are/aren’t allowed so they don’t wrongly hassle rule-abiding riders.

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My bike-on-BART commute just got horrible since the train-length cutbacks went into effect this week. I already adjust my hours to accommodate the bike blackouts. Do I have to find another job now? This bites.

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The way you state the bikes rule is a bit confusing. The easy way to remember the rule is that bikes aren’t allowed in the direction of the main commute during rush hours. This means toward downtown San Francisco in the morning and away from downtown San Francisco in the evenings. The reason they’re not officially allowed at Civic Center towards the East Bay in the mornings is that there are still Powell and Montgomery stations to go before the heart of downtown. Montgomery Street is the busiest station since it’s in the heart of the Financial District where the most commuters get off in the morning and on in the evening.

The general rule is that people, whether bikers or non-bikers, can be a-holes. I agree the documentation about the rules for bikers isn’t that obvious, but on the other hand many of the bikers on BART around the time of the morning and evening commutes are regular riders and are well aware of the rules. I’m actually having a hard time deciding which is more annoying in this situation, the woman or the guy with the bike.

The woman is annoying because she’s asking pointed questions and doesn’t just come out and say what she means. Passive aggressive BS.

The guy with the bike is annoying because he almost certainly knows the rules and decided they didn’t apply to him. He’s somehow more important than everyone else and decided to bring his bike on BART anyway. Then when he’s confronted about it he just plays stupid which is passive-aggressive in his own special way.

And I suppose this bike rider wouldn’t have shoved his way on if there hadn’t been room? I’ve seen rule breaking bike-riders during rush hour that force there way on and then standing commuters cant get on somewhere else. Whether you like it or not, a full sized bike and rider takes the space of about 3 or 4 passengers (depending how they decide to position themselves).

If a bike rider really needs to take their bike for rush hour commute regularly, then getting a folding bike is much better than simply trying to sneak on the train and then playing dumb. They’re allowed by BART rules and if a passenger hassles the bike rider, the rider is completely within the rules and doesn’t need to worry about it.

Of course the best solution would be bike-only cars where the bikes could be stored in a much more space efficient way.

Given that BART has made things less than ideal since the budget cuts for everyone, I don’t see this happening. Bikers aren’t the only ones hurting from the reduced BART service and length of trains. Crowded trains from reduced length make normal passengers less tolerant of bikes that take up room. People who use BART outside of rush hour are bothered since frequences has been reduced from 4 times an hour (15 minutes) to 3 times an hour (20 minutes).

Sadly, given the state of BART I don’t realistically see anything getting better for normal or bike-riding passengers anytime soon.

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There is a petition and study to get the commute-hours restriction lifted, and I hope it happens. Really, with so many cars on the road, we should be embracing bikes and the people who ride them to work. I understand people being annoyed if a BART car is crowded, but c’mon — it’s a subway. Have you ever been on one in New York, London or Tokyo? Often times, you can hardly move. So if there’s enough room for a bike, I really think people can put up with a little bit of crowded-ness in place of more auto pollution.

I just started a new job where I was planning to bike to BART, then bike from BART to my new office, which would have been Civic Center BART to North Berkeley BART. But I’ve been driving so far because of the bike on BART restrictions that make it ridiculously complicated to save the planet.

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