A constant risk with a combo bike-bus commute is a bus rolling up with the rack already full. A couple of times a year that's okay; I can wait 30min for the next bus, or just lock up my bike nearby (no, the driver is not going to wait; I just ride ahead to a stop where it's safe to leave the bike during the day or overnight--I'm faster than the bus in town so have time to lock it up) and get on the bus.
The other day I just missed one bus, and when the next bus came half an hour later, it had a full bike rack. I said okay, it's a nice day; me and my ipod can wait it out. But then then next bus was also full, even though it was a 3-bike rack. And it was the start of a four day weekend for me, so not a good time to leave the bike locked up. Finally got on the third bus--that's 90 minutes waiting for a *%#!@*& bus, almost three hours to get home. Had I known, I might have camped out in my office overnight.
Yea. I agree completely. Putting a bike on a bus is easy and convenient, but it's the uncertainty of there being an open slot that turns people off (in addition to the perceived uncertainty that the bus will show up when the schedule says it will). I don't have a reasonable transit option between my office and home, though, so that settles that problem.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever have a showdown with another cyclist? A bus pulls up with one open slot, but there's two people with bikes trying to get on? What do you do then?
I guess this makes a powerful argument for the folding bicycle.
cyclists are pretty good about first come, first serve.
ReplyDeleteas for the folding bike, I saw one once being demonstrated, but it was more complicated than I would like, but I'll bet one will come by eventually.