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bike racks coming to the last remaining PAT buses

do we believe it when we see it?


Bike racks coming to 160 remaining Port Authority buses

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

By Jon Schmitz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Port Authority by next fall will have bike racks on all of its buses.


An authority board committee today voted to accept a $32,500 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to complete financing of a $250,000 project to put racks on the 190 buses that don't have them.


About 600 buses already have racks, but the absence of racks on the other vehicles created doubts among bicyclists.


"That's the main complaint we hear from the bicycle community right now. You can't rely on it," said authority CEO Steve Bland.


The project was funded with $175,000 in federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality funds and $42,500 from the state.


Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10321/1103954-455.stm#ixzz15YLX6Xxn


caitlin
2010-11-17 15:14:00

man you're fast. here's to hoping that the 100% doesn't come sooner because they might just cut service


erok
2010-11-17 15:21:34

Waaaaiiiiit a minute....


Next fall.


Does this include the big long distance expresses that are _currently_ in their schedule, or only the buses that are scheduled to run next fall assuming no funding gets found?


this is a super huge difference. It means that I could get to my Cranberry job via bike and PAT, if they didn't get rid of the Warrendale flyer. In fact, if they didn't get rid of that flyer, and that flyer had a rack, I'd buy an annual pass and dump my car. assuming that the rack could withstand 25 miles of highway jostling...


so does that mean 100% of PAT vehicles, or 100% of the buses they think can handle racks? Any inside knowledge out there?


ejwme
2010-11-17 15:26:35

Cool. I would love to do an EBA bus/bike commute from Edgewood on the cold days this winter but as the article states, I can't rely on it. Hope it happens sooner than later.


rsprake
2010-11-17 15:27:11

Not all buses can accommodate racks. The big suburban coaches generally can not accept them. Design issues to blame.


All buses that can accommodate racks will be outfitted.


That was confirmed for me in person by several separate Port Authority representatives.


swalfoort
2010-11-17 15:28:34

GUH.


Hmm... So what's to be done about getting bikes on the coaches? Heh... Not to tarnish your laurels ;) There are no design issues. Just imagination, motivation, or funding issues.


STILL this is awesome :D


ejwme
2010-11-17 15:31:27

The big suburban coaches generally can not accept them. Design issues to blame. we were told this for years, but the other day I saw one with a rack.


erok
2010-11-17 15:40:45

That phrase "last remaining PAT buses" has an unfortunate ring to it, given the huge service cuts planned for March and June, with no rescue plan to prevent them in sight.


So perhaps no need to worry about the coaches. Those suburban routes are expensive to run. They might all be gone by next fall.


steven
2010-11-17 15:48:05

I care little for the coaches. I care about the routes they currently drive.


erok - details? imagination, motivation, and funding issues. no design issues.


ejwme
2010-11-17 15:58:13

i don't know. for years we were told that those suburban buses can't accept the racks. then like 3 days ago, one went by with a rack. i don't know, maybe there are different companies making the buses


erok
2010-11-17 16:08:30

That video from TARC, wow. :)


dwillen
2010-11-17 16:17:55

Where's Stu when you need him? He'll have all the details.


swalfoort
2010-11-17 16:18:52

Hmm. PAT's shaping up. That's good news.


Now maybe they can find a grant to educate their driver's not to be such ass-hats.


atleastmykidsloveme
2010-11-17 23:13:11

That will be nice. I average 1 rackless bus per day in a bad week of commuting... so with a normal bike multimodal commuting would be plain infeasible.


sprite
2010-11-18 14:45:08

Are the suburban busses the ones that are almost more like Greyhounds? They have luggage areas above the seats right? We aren't talking about the long articulated busses since a lot of those do have racks on them.


rsprake
2010-11-18 16:17:55

Don't they also have big luggage bins out on the side of the bus ? I always wanted to put something in them... Seriously, why would PAT buy busses with big luggage areas they never use ?


boazo
2010-11-18 16:32:04

The 1900-series 45-foot coaches are what are used on the suburban routes like the 13K Warrendale Flyer and the P12 Holiday Park. Bus 1926 has a rack as an experiment. I have not heard how successful that experiment has been. The buses that I had previously heard would not get racks are the little ones (8600-series) that look like oversized milk trucks.


With the service cuts planned for March all but certain, I don't know which actual buses are being taken off the road. Collier and Harmar Garages are being mothballed; they can handle the 45-footers, while Ross Garage cannot.


Now maybe they can find a grant to educate their drivers not to be such ass-hats.


In fact that is happening. At last night's ACTC meeting, I was made aware of a driver retraining program for drivers for the proper handling of cyclists in traffic.


@Boazo The buses themselves are identical to Greyhound coaches, and standard equipment is to have those bins. It would cost more money not to have them. The overhead bins are standard equipment, too, and on these, as well as the 1980 and 1984 purchases they replaced. Very handy, actually.


stuinmccandless
2010-11-18 16:37:45

@Stu I met with all the right folks at the Port Authority a few weeks ago about this. Very happy to see they're taking the next steps!


scott
2010-11-18 16:44:45

Let's just hope that after they can 555 people in March that there will be any white collar staff left to actually accomplish anything.


stuinmccandless
2010-11-18 16:52:27

At last night's ACTC meeting, I was made aware of a driver retraining program for drivers for the proper handling of cyclists in traffic.


I'd love to see such retraining be a standard part of school bus driver licensing. Forbes outbound from Regent Square in the morning feels like the yellow wall of death at times.


pseudacris
2010-11-18 17:13:01

Sigh.


I'll have to take advantage of the commute options I've got while I've got them, then, and not wait for improvements that may never happen. One thing I've noticed, while none of the bussing options are terrific, if there are n options available, they are all tolerable for a period of time so long as I've only tried n-1.


I am my own masochistic wish - a suburbanite realizing that there is no fast way to daily traverse 30+ miles one way.


Good for PAT getting these racks, and the training. I'm glad they're listening, and I'm glad Scott and Swalfoort et al are talking :D Thank you guys!


ejwme
2010-11-18 17:38:56

This day can't come soon enough. Today, every single 48 from 1:45 to 3:45 had no rack on it.

I don't know if any after that did, I gave up and took the 51 instead. I hate the 51. if you had to take all the problems that come with PAT budget cuts and put them all in one place, you'd get a 51.


rubberfactory
2010-11-24 21:09:22

Yeah the 51 isn't my favorite bus to ride but the 77 isn't any better. Almost always has a rack but is standing room only after first stop in town. Since I go to almost the end o the line it makes for a LONG ride. Still long ring ride better than no ride


dbacklover
2010-11-26 11:43:59

I was told, without having to ask first, that every bus will be equipped with a bike rack by July 31. That includes artics (bendy buses) and the humungo 45-footers.


Today I was told that the bike racks for the 45-footers for East Liberty Garage have arrived and are being installed, so you should start seeing Penn Hills and Monroeville express buses with them soon.


stuinmccandless
2011-06-23 19:56:52

This is great news! Anyone who wants to practice using one of the bus racks before doing it on a "live bus" is welcome to come try one out at the Try A Bike Jamboree.


PAT is lending us a demonstration rack.

They're pretty easy to use and a volunteer will be on hand to walk you through it if you want help.


pseudacris
2011-06-23 20:13:55

YES!!!


erok
2011-06-23 21:06:18

Not to be a Billy Buzzkill, but does this mean that there will be an explicit policy stating that all buses on all routes at all times will accept bikes? Without that, well, there's still the un-retrained driver who grunts "No bikes on dis route..."


reddan
2011-06-23 21:30:55

Well, I hadn't thought about that, and if every bus in the fleet has one, you wouldn't think it should be necessary to say that, but, yeah, I guess I'd better ask.


stuinmccandless
2011-06-24 00:19:00

Meanwhile, I was asked to pass this along: PLEASE use the slot nearest the driver if you are the first to load a bike. Later, if two bikes are on and the nearest-to-driver one is taken off first, it's OK. Just that they'd prefer the rear slot be used first.


stuinmccandless
2011-06-24 00:20:34

you wouldn't think it should be necessary to say that


I wouldn't. You wouldn't. Someone who just flat-out doesn't like cyclists, on the other hand...


reddan
2011-06-24 00:21:01

yeah, that's the idea of having all buses.


erok
2011-06-24 00:36:37

This will be great to have reliable service. For me it was the difference between using the bus or not. One P1 (EBA) goes by without a rack and I could have biked there just as fast so I stopped trying.


rsprake
2011-06-24 00:52:11

Heh, I just helped a guy rack his bike properly, instead of backwards and on the outer rack.


sprite
2011-06-24 22:35:31

top!


erok
2011-09-20 20:18:22

top fer dis!



You’re invited to Transportation Exploration, an event celebrating sustainable transportation, on Friday, September 23 from 7:30 – 9:30 AM in Market Square. All are encouraged to bike, bus, carpool, or simply walk downtown to celebrate and show support for sustainable transportation. Our decision makers need to know that biking, walking, transit, and other transportation alternatives are worth investing in and prioritizing. Participating organizations will be on hand to answer commuters’ questions about how to get around Pittsburgh without defaulting to getting behind a wheel of a car for each and every trip.

The Port Authority will use the event to officially announce that their entire fleet, ie 100% of their buses are now outfitted with bus-mounted bike racks – a very important development for people who want to combine transportation options. A Port Authority bus will be parked in Market Square to allow people to practice racking their bikes. The crowd will be welcomed and addressed by BikePGH Executive Director Scott Bricker, Port Authority CEO Steve Bland, GBA Director of Innovation, Aurora Sharrard, and others.

Immediately following the speakers, all attendees are strongly encouraged to join a group photo to show the Pittsburgh region’s support of this worldwide effort to go beyond fossil fuels, so please show up and be counted. “Pittsburgh Climate Initiative is elated to be able to co-sponsor Transportation Exploration with Pittsburgh region organizations that work to increase and make information available about transportation options that save people money and reduce air pollution. This regional collaboration is elevating the discourse about air emissions and providing viable alternatives for commuters,” said Aurora Sharrard, Director of Innovation of Green Building Alliance, the convening organization of the Pittsburgh Climate Initiative.

A Port Authority bus will be parked in Market Square to allow people to practice racking their bikes, and attendees will have the opportunity to learn more about commuting options with CommuteInfo, a program of Southwest PA Commission. BikePGH and Zipcar will also make available bike commuting and car sharing resources.

Transportation Exploration is a part of Moving Planet Day, an international campaign by 350.org to promote sustainable transportation options. Numerous events worldwide will raise awareness for sustainable transportation and help the planet to “move beyond fossil fuels”.

This event is co-sponsored by Pittsburgh Climate Initiative, BikePGH, Southwest Pennsylvania Commission, Port Authority of Allegheny County, the Mattress Factory, and Group Against Smog and Pollution.


erok
2011-09-20 20:21:19

Yaaay! Just an update, there are a scant few (like maybe 10) of the oldest 1996-model buses that still do not have racks. Their inspections are up in just a couple months, after which they will be scrapped.


That, and there are a very few newer buses that don't have racks for one reason or another, I don't know why. Probably a rebuild after an accident and something's too bent to attach the rack to, but not so bad they can't use the bus anymore. But all told, it's pretty darn close to 100% of the fleet.


New buses are arriving daily, the 5800s and 3-door artics, the 3200s. All have racks.


EDIT: I encountered my first case of being the second bike on a rack the other day. In McCandless, inbound! There are only about five stops upstream of me on the O12.


stuinmccandless
2011-09-21 02:53:42

Cool! Ironically I'm on one of the last rackless dinosaurs right now (bring on the inspection meteor event...)


sprite
2011-09-23 22:36:42

Boring Pittsburgh had me run through the loading of bikes on bus racks! Video here!


stuinmccandless
2011-10-05 23:31:55

Also, from one of my FB friends (who also happens to be a bus driver):

Here are buses left today without racks: 1932, 2634, 2635, 2638, 2661, 2668, 2671, 2681, 2691, 2692, 2768, 2770, 3056, and 5329. Not bad at all, and 11 out of these 14 are retiring between oct 30th and late December.


* 1932 is a big 45-foot suburban coach

* 3056 is an articulated; its days are numbered but not real soon, maybe a year or so

* 5329 is a newer bus, maybe seven years old, going to be around a good long time. I don't know why it doesn't or cannot have a rack. Photo taken Sept. 30, 2011.


bus 5329


stuinmccandless
2011-10-05 23:43:41

wow, thanks for the update. maybe it broke and they removed it and never put it back on?


erok
2011-10-06 03:31:47

Great recon, Stu! Can you contact Port Authority and inquire about the 1 or 2 that should have them but don't?


scott
2011-10-06 03:32:46

Stu, I love the video!


pseudacris
2011-10-06 20:53:53

stu, finally watched that video. SO AWESOME!! I posted it to the front page of the site


erok
2011-10-06 21:20:45

*blushes*

Thanks for the front-page treatment!

Actually, it was kinda fun making the video.


Hat tip to my friend Secret Agent L for the "Be Kind. No Exceptions." T-shirt I wore for the shoot.


As to 5329, I'm going to guess the bus was in an accident that messed up the undercarriage badly enough that the attachment points are mangled, but not bad enough that they can't run the bus. Probably the same with the other two. The artic may also be gone soon. Those new 3-door 3200s are intended to replace those 14yo buses. Buses are only expected to last 12 years, and we're getting 14 or 15 out of them.


I'll get a definite answer on 5329, though. My source also tells me that at least one bike-hating driver asks for that bus just to piss off cyclists. (There always has to be one, right?)


stuinmccandless
2011-10-07 03:23:16

that's cool, another 100 views since it went up. edumacating the masses!


erok
2011-10-07 13:37:42

One key thing I think the video leaves out is that when exiting the bus be sure to let the driver know you will be unloading the bike at that stop.


Don't rely on them remembering you or anything. I have had a handful of times where the driver nearly pulled away from the stop with my bike! :o


impala26
2011-10-07 15:49:29

+1 Impala


swalfoort
2011-10-07 16:11:51

That video rules! Stu, you are shredding around that corner at the start!


And another +1 for letting the driver know.


rsprake
2011-10-07 16:52:29


Not sure if you've seen some of the buses that now have a big panel affixed to the bike racks. That's to hold an advertisement, I am told. I have not yet used one of these myself, but I did encounter a lame comment from a Facebook friend about how stupid the idea was and how poor PAT is. With that, I posted the following retort:


"Lose the attitude. This is brilliant. Those ads are *income*. PAT isn't poor, it's underfunded. There's an important difference. You try running a $330 million operation on $280 million in income. If they can get a couple hundred bucks a bus each month for having an ad on the front, *while also* carting around a bicycle now & then, then more power to them. Learn how the funding system works (or rather, how it was designed to work), and once properly informed, then try in good conscience to say this. You will find that you cannot. If instead you insist on continuing to approach it this way, the appropriate word is: ignorant. Ditto to anyone else, and I know there are *a lot* of people who think this way."


stuinmccandless
2011-10-15 09:15:43

I would also add that if they find it stupid to have ads on buses, I would find it equally stupid to have a "Consol" arena, a "PNC" park, or a "Heinz" field. Are those entities "poor"?

What happened to the city that had the Civic Arena, Three Rivers Stadium, and Forbes Field? I guess since everyone wears corporate logos right on their clothing, we're all nothing but fking corporate signboards anyway (rant over).


edmonds59
2011-10-15 12:08:25

The more people use the racks, the less we'll have to look at the ads ;-)


pseudacris
2011-10-15 12:12:08

Pseuda, awesome point!


edmonds59
2011-10-15 12:19:03

i think that's great. but i always wondered, and stu, maybe you can enlighten, but the ads on the inside of the buses (those panels) always seem to be ads for the Port Authority. are they having trouble selling those inside ones, or do they just not try very hard. seems like some easy revenue.


erok
2011-10-15 13:01:15

Re: Port Authority advertising itself, I always assumed they just put those when there are no other advertisers who've bought the space. Maybe they have one or two designated panels for route changes/announcements etc. but would typically prefer a paying advertiser to more self-promotion if there one there, and as soon as one comes along, they swap it out.


ieverhart
2011-10-15 14:41:45

I tend to notice that the majority of "interior" bus advertising is either Port Authority announcements or UPMC ads for various participation studies and whatnot. Actually, given the demographics of those who ride the buses, this is actually geared in the right way.


I've just never been a fan of the all-over heat-wrapped ads on the outside of buses. My biggest gripe with those is that they obscure the windows, and in my view, without windows to look out a somewhat boring bus ride becomes even MORE boring.


impala26
2011-10-15 15:43:29

It's actually a fairly complex topic, one that has changed over time. It had been the case that all ads, interior and exterior, were handled by one contracted agency. Said agency made piles more money on the exterior ads than the interior. No payback, so no effort expended, so no ads. More recently, staff does this work directly, but staff is stretched beyond thin. Anything they do sell goes straight into increasing income, but again, at only $1 per ad per month per bus (1998 numbers), it's a lot of work for very little payback. Much easier to fill up the space with internal announcements than pound the pavement to sell space, so that's what you get.


Full-wrap buses, OTOH, pay back big time. PAT is not the only transit agency to do these, which they've done here since May 1994 btw. Visibility issues are well known. There is little to learn that hasn't already been tried.


stuinmccandless
2011-10-16 02:07:13

$1/month/bus???? This seems like insanely cheap advertising. BikePGH should hop on that train.


dmtroyer
2011-10-17 02:50:19

The numbers may have changed, but that's what those overhead interior "car card" ads used to cost. Plus design and production costs. To get one on every bus for a month is close to a grand. I don't know current numbers.


stuinmccandless
2011-10-17 10:14:05

i see these on board ads in every other city? how does everyone make this work, but we failed at it? clearly there is profit to be made if others agencies take the time to do this.


erok
2011-10-17 17:15:00

I would be curious to see the socio-economic breakdown of ridership for various cities mass transit systems. I have no idea if there is a link there or not, but I see less professionals on busses in PGH than I have in a lot of other cities.


wojty
2011-10-17 18:04:39

I just rode a brand new articulated bus on the G2 route, it was a really, really nice bus, still had that new bus smell. As opposed to b.o. And it had a rack, whoohoo! The only drawback was that it apparently had led interior lighting, really really awful. I am very hesitant about a future where we have completely led indoor lighting if that is where we are headed, it will be horrible.


edmonds59
2011-10-26 20:04:32

Actually all the 5600s (new, early 2009) and 5700s (new, late 2009) have LED lighting; some lights on the 2007 model 5500s are LEDs as well, though not all. So we've had them for a while.


We're getting three sets of brand-new buses right now. The 3200s are the artics, the 5800s are the regular 40-footers, and a few hybrids numbered 5730-something, are all being put in service right now. The artics are a different manufacturer, New Flyer, whereas the others are just re-orders of the same make and model of what we've been getting for the last few years (5200 on up).


However, we will be seeing a lot more of the artics as we retire the 1900s next year, and replace some older 40-footers. I'll pass along that the lighting is objectionably garish. Maybe they can modify them in future orders.


stuinmccandless
2011-10-26 20:28:50

I completely forgot that I like to sit in the middle swivelly section and failed to do that. Maybe this evening.


edmonds59
2011-10-26 20:33:12

I like to stand in the middle swivelly section, feet planted fore and aft and a little left and right, astride the articulation point. That way you get to experience the humps and hollows in the street as well as the turns.


stuinmccandless
2011-10-26 20:38:57

I'm guessing taht LED lighting will vary wildy - some will be horrid, but there is no reason they can't balance out a white LED with several colors, for an OK overall mix.


mick
2011-10-26 20:51:45

I rode two new artics today and didn't think the lighting was bad at all. your eyes will adjust to the temperature of the lights. I especially loved how it almost imperceptibly dimmed when the doors shut.


dmtroyer
2011-10-26 21:18:06

As of Tuesday, Nov 1, our rackless count should be down to eight, from 14. Four old no-rack buses retiring, two others got racks. The count may actually be less than eight; the only confirmed no-racks I have at the moment are 2661, 2668, 2681, 3056, and 5329.


stuinmccandless
2011-10-31 01:44:35

Cool!


@wojty it varies a lot here by route IME.


sprite
2011-11-01 23:05:21

No-rack 2681 lives! I saw it on East Carson after the tag pickup. This bus is well into its 16th year. It's legal until at least the end of November.


stuinmccandless
2011-11-01 23:30:32

We still have a couple of rack-less buses. Aside from 5329, which will be around a while (2016, I'm told), there are about seven, some still sporting the 1996 red-white-black paint scheme. Four of these run out of Collier garage, typically running a G2, and are paired with a rack-toting 3200-series articulated. Three run out of West Mifflin. I believe all will be scrapped after Jan 31.


stuinmccandless
2012-01-21 15:19:15

Erok and I saw one of these downtown yesterday. Can't wait till these are retired.


scott
2012-01-21 15:43:01

man, i've been in pittsburgh long enough to see a whole generation of buses be born and die.


erok
2012-01-21 18:56:14

I'm glad that they are using them as space for advertisement


dmtroyer
2012-01-21 19:30:21

yeah, it sorta helps a bit


erok
2012-01-21 21:47:14

@ Edmunds guess since everyone wears corporate logos right on their clothing, we're all nothing but fking corporate signboards anyway


"Corporations are people, my friend."


mick
2012-01-23 18:09:52

Twitter conversation, 1/24/2012:


will 5329 ever have a bike rack?This is a newer bus and is out all the time!


Port Auth answer: It should! I've forwarded the message along to our bus department so they can work on correcting that.


stuinmccandless
2012-01-24 18:43:17

So as I was getting my 29 bus home last night, I got a bus with a broken rack (#5536). The driver got out to check it, then said "just bring it on in". When I got on I thanked him profusely and his reply was "I'm not going to leave you standing out there, it's our job to make it happen". This driver was awesome, just naturally positive (29 route, Gateway Center 5:56 bus, 2/21/2012). If PAT had more drivers like this guy, shit, if Western PA had more people like that, I can only imagine how much better things would be.

Stu, is there somewhere on the PAT site I should report that rack?


edmonds59
2012-02-22 11:54:02

you should call the garage and tell the guys boss how awesome he is.


cburch
2012-02-22 12:23:29

while I agree you should call his boss or send a "gold star" on their website or whatever is called, you probably don't need to tell them he let you bring your bike on the bus.


dmtroyer
2012-02-22 13:01:01

That was my thinking.


edmonds59
2012-02-22 13:34:10

This page has links for both griping about the broken rack, and giving the operator a gold star.


steven
2012-02-22 14:40:17

Did!


edmonds59
2012-02-22 17:41:53

That is awesome! Every time I came across a broken rack, I would tweet the day/time/route/direction/bus number to @pghtransit from my phone, but I'm pretty sure they all got lost in the internet void. I'll definitely bookmark that page.


rubberfactory
2012-02-22 22:20:35

Update on the rack situation. Bus 5329 now has a rack. That leaves two -- count 'em -- two buses still in service without racks, #2634 and #2770. Both run out of Collier Div, so the occasional 38 or G2 gets one of them. The next time anything on either one of those fails, the bus will be scrapped.


There are only three of the red-white-black buses at all still on the road, out of 170 originally. #2622 can occasionally be seen still. Sixteen years old, and racks or not, they will be missed. Nice smooth quiet ride, A/C usually good. We've had a few fantrips on them.


stuinmccandless
2012-02-23 00:14:46