No More Passes For Bikes On Trains

 When you get to a certain age, you realize that you have things you’ll never use again.

The one I’m about to mention is small and its obsolescence, about which I have mixed feelings, but won’t pose any inconvenience for me.  As of 7 September, the Long Island Rail Road (The LIRR still spells it as two words!) and Metro- North Railroad will no longer require a pass to bring a bicycle on one of their trains.  The lines, part of the Metropolitan Transit Authority’s suburban New York system, will offer a one-day “grace period” on 22 August (a week from Sunday) before the new policy takes effect.

Metro-North President Christine Rinaldi described the new policy as an “effort to welcome back as many bicyclists as possible.”  I am willing to believe her, as train ridership plummeted early in the pandemic and is now approaching pre-pandemic levels.  Also, suburban enclaves are, like New York City, trying to get people out of their cars.  Making it easier and more convenient for people to combine bicycling with commuting by train would help to achieve this goal.

For a few cyclists, the abolition of the pass, and its $5 cost, might entice them to ride to the train. That fee, however, is a one-time fee:  I still have the same passes I  bought about a dozen years ago—to replace my old passes, which I had for about fifteen years, after I changed my name.

I think the real reason the pass and its fee will be eliminated is that administering it and enforcing its use was too difficult and costly.  More precisely, it wasn’t enforced: I can recall only one instance in which a conductor asked to see my pass. 

Also, all of the other policies regarding bicycles, which are more consistently enforced, will remain in place.  They include a limit of four bicycles per train on weekdays and eight on weekends, except on specially-marked weekend “bicycle trains,” which will allow more.  Also, the LIRR and Metro-North will continue to prohibit bicycles on trains during rush hours, on major holidays and on certain holiday weekends.

Mad Dogs, Englishmen And Lucky

 Last week the weather was more like May or June than August.  Now we’re experiencing a heat wave that’s baking the rest of the world. Or so it seems.

So, today, I went for an early ride—or, at least, early enough that when I got home, only mad dogs and Englishmen remained outside.

Oh, and “Lucky”:

Things Not OK For This Share Program

Four years ago, while in Rome, I learned that the city’s bike share program ended after most of its bikes were stolen.  Many were disassembled and ended up in dumps, “chop shops” or the Tiber.

Similar fates befell bikes of Velib, the first iteration of Paris’ share program.  While some machines were tossed into the Seine or Canal Saint Martin, others turned up in Eastern Europe and North America.  The new iteration of the service includes improved security features.

Here in New York, I sometimes see Citibikes, which are easy to recognize because of their shape, painted flat black or other colors that aren’t Citibike blue.

Other cities have likewise discovered that their bike share programs’ biggest problems are not breakdowns or cost.  Rather, they are theft and vandalism.

That is what Oklahoma City is now experiencing. Ride OKC, the city’s share program, announced that it recently a third of its fleet in a short period of time.

I’ve never been to Oklahoma City.  From what I understand, it’s as auto-centric as many other places in Southern and Western US, though it’s mayor is trying to change that.  I hope the loss of those bikes doesn’t derail his efforts.