MBTA Going To Let Some Trains Have Bikes On Them During Rush Hour

Its as if someone finally realized there is no difference between a double wide stroller, a wheel chair, a bunch of bags of groceries, and a bicycle. Its still not full access but hey its a start. Lets hope they will see that bikes are easily accommodated on the trains (also if you are going to take your bike on the train don’t be a dick head).

——————
from the email: (thanks John)

Newburyport/Rockport Line
Pilot Bike Program
Effective Monday, May 13th
A pilot program permitting bikes to be transported on peak period trains
between specific stations will begin on Monday, May 13th.
Passengers with bikes must board at the mini high platform.
Passengers with bikes will get off the train first or as directed by a train
crew member.
Preference will always be given to wheelchair passengers. If there is not
enough room for wheelchair passengers and passengers with bikes, the
passengers with bikes will not be permitted to board the train with their
bikes,
This pilot program will apply to the following stations:
Rockport Line
Bikes will be carried, as specified above, between Rockport, Gloucester,
West Gloucester, Manchester, Beverly Farms, Prides Crossing and Montserrat
stations.
Inbound peak service trains: 102, 104, 106, 108 and 110
No bikes will be allowed to go beyond Montserrat Station.
Outbound peak service trains: 127, 129, 131 and 133
Newburyport Line
Bikes will be carried, as specified above, between Newburyport, Rowley,
Ipswich, Hamilton/Wenham and North Beverly stations.
Inbound peak service trains: 152, 154, 156, 158 and 162
No bikes will be allowed to go beyond North Beverly Station.
Outbound peak service trains: 177, 181, 183 and 185

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Riding Your Bike To Work Saves You A S#!tload Of Money

A recent report out shows that taking the MBTA to work every day saves you a whopping $12,834 a year by riding the T. So logically riding your bike would save you even more than that.

According to the November Transit Savings Report from the American Public Transportation Association, individuals who ride public transportation instead of getting behind the wheel can save, on average, $816 a month, and $9,798 annually.

For MBTA riders, those numbers are even higher.

The November study revealed that T travelers saved an average of $1,069 this month, and will pocket an extra $12,834 this year that would have otherwise been wasted on a parking spaces and gas for a car.

Boston transportation users also came in third for most money saved annually on a list of the top 20 major cities with the highest public transit ridership, the report said.

The Hub fell just behind New York City and San Francisco.

So congratulations, if you rode your bike to work every day this year you saved a minimum of 12 grand, but factoring in the cost of a monthly T-pass (of which you didn’t buy) you actually saved closer to 13 grand, or over 1,000 a month. Take that money and buy yourself a new bike!

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New Bike Shelter At Suffolk Downs T Station

George sent in these pics of the snazzy new bike shelter at Suffolk downs. Anyone try them out yet?

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Cyclist Hit And Killed In Allston

I am getting reports of a cyclist hit and potentially killed in Allston.

Here are the details I have so far:

Happened around 6:15pm tonight
Corner of corner of Harvard Ave and Brighton in front of Redneck BBQ
some say it involved an MBTA bus
No Helmet
Rider is male, wearing a Red Sox hat
white Giant bike with Knog lights
rider had a new Kryptonite lock on the handlebars

Apparently the ambulance didn’t rush off after loading him in, which means he is either ok, or dead. I am hoping he is ok.

Does anyone else have any information about this incident? More information when I get it.

EDIT: I am getting more reports that the cyclist has been killed, nothing confirmed yet though.

EDIT:

It was fatal sadly.

from here.

A 21-year-old bicyclist was fatally struck by a vehicle in Allston tonight, and authorities are trying to determine if an MBTA bus was involved, police said.

Boston police Officer Neva Coakley, a department spokeswoman, said the man was struck just before 6:30 p.m. near the corner of Harvard and Brighton avenues, and witnesses reported that the vehicle may have been a T bus.

Joe Pesaturo, an MBTA spokesman, said Transit Police are working closely on the investigation with Boston police and the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office, but he declined further comment.

Jake Wark, a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel F. Conley, said a prosecutor from the office was at the scene tonight, but authorities have not confirmed that it was a T bus that hit the man.

More than a dozen plainclothes and uniformed Boston police officers were at gathered at the intersection tonight directing traffic and telling pedestrians passing through the busy intersection to move along.

The eastbound lane of Brighton Avenue was cordoned off, just outside Redneck’s Roast Beef, and a twisted white bicycle was visible just off the sidewalk at the corner.

This is tragic, so young. If he was hit by a bus it will be yet another in a string of cyclists killed by large vehicles. This has to stop.

EDIT:More images of the scene here.

Bostonino reports that a bus driver has been taken out of service and questioned:

A 58-year-old MBTA bus driver has been taken out of service while the Boston Police Department and officials from the T investigate the circumstances of a bicycle accident in Allston that killed a man in his twenties.

“A Route 57 bus operator has been taken out of service while police investigators work to establish facts in this matter,” according to T spokesman Joe Pesaturo. “[The driver] is 58, and he has been with the T for six years.”

According to reports, witnesses said an MBTA bus may have been involved in the accident, which happened on the corner of Harvard and Brighton Avenues on Monday evening, just after 6 p.m.

Jake Wark, a spokesman from the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office, said the cyclist was killed, but no charges have been filed at this time.

“It is still under investigation,” said Wark, via e-mail to BostInno.

Wark did say, however, it was a “bus and [bic]cycle collision.”

EDIT: Seems the bus driver didn’t realize he had hit the cyclist.

The bus driver was unaware he struck the bicyclist, according to police, but witnesses at the scene said the bus did hit him.

EDIT: Seems it was a BU Student.

Authorities are investigating the facts surrounding the death of a 21-year-old bicyclist who was struck by a vehicle in Allston Monday night, officials said.

“Everybody is still out, and the investigation is still ongoing,” said Neva Coakley, a Boston Police Department spokeswoman.

The accident occurred at 6:36 p.m. on the corner of Brighton Avenue and Harvard Avenue, Coakley said.

News outlets report that the bicyclist was a Boston University student, although BU officials did not confirm this information.

EDIT: NPR Reports that the cyclist was hit by a bus driver, and that the driver may have not known that he hit a cyclist.

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Bike Cage Improvement At South Station

Got this in the email, and I visited the other day to confirm that yes they have improved these cages an awful lot since they were installed.

I was by South Station today and noticed they have finally made improvements to the bike cage that was installed last year I think (maybe earlier) to bring it up to a true secure cage. There are new cameras and a secure door is installed though the sign says it wont be fully working until October when you will need a bike charlie card.

Thanks John for the tip

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Man Hit By MBTA Bus Dies

A while ago I reported that a Salem man had been hit by an MBTA bus, sadly he never recovered. My heart goes out to his family and friends.

The Salem man who collided with an MBTA bus Monday morning has died, according to the Salem News.

Salem Police told the outlet Philip Moran, 47, died at Massachusetts General Hospital on Tuesday night.

On Monday morning the Salem, state and MBTA Police were on scene of the accident, which occurred at the intersection of Federal and Washington Streets.

Moran was riding a bicycle, which was on scene during the investigation, at the time of the collision.

The investigation is ongoing, but no charges have been filed against the driver of the bus thus far,the outlet reports. The MBTA driver is still employed but not driving, an MBTA representative told the Salem News. (via)

more info here.

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How To Avoid The New MBTA Fare Hikes

Prices are going (for charlie card users) from $1.70 to $2.00 per subway ride, or a .30 increase. Assuming you don’t use a monthly pass, and you ride the T on average 2 times a day, you are looking at an extra (.30 X 2 X 7) $4.20 a week, or ($4.20 X 4) $16.80 a month, or ($16.80 X 12) $201.6 a year. Again assuming 2 trips a day, you used to pay $1241, now you are going to pay $1460.

The changes are going to cost you $201.60 extra a year…or will they.

Check this out.

If you own a bicycle (that thing in the basement that you have been ignoring for the last decade), you can save $4 a day by simply using it to get to work instead. To offset $201.60 you only need to ride your bike roughly 51 times.

If you only ride when its nice, say in the spring and fall, when its not too hot or too cold, and it isn’t raining you should easily accomplish this price reduction. Plus the added health bonus might even save you more money at the doctors.

Now let say you don’t own a bicycle, lucky for you Boston just installed the new Hubway system. Right now they are offering $50 yearly memberships, so you would only need to take Hubway to work ($201.60 + $50.00 = $251.60) roughly 63 days to completely eliminate the MBTA fare hike. Again assuming you do this during the nice parts of the year, or only on nice days, you should easily accomplish such a task.

The more you ride, the more you save!

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Saving the MBTA: Good For Cycling, Good For Everyone

You can’t have good cycling without good public transportation, it’s that simple. Save the MBTA.

from MassBike.
—————————-

You hopefully saw our first report on the MBTA fare increase and service cut proposals, which will have a negative impact on anyone who uses public transportation, bicyclists included. But in addition to hurting bicyclists who use transit for part of their bike trip, all other bicyclists will also be affected. With fewer transit options, there will be more cars on the street. With more cars on the street, bicyclists (and everyone else) will have to deal with more traffic and more frustrated drivers. More traffic means more exhaust and reduced air quality that we breathe while riding. The MBTA has already conceded these points. Basically, this is a bad deal for all users of the road.

MBTA riders gathered outside the State House for a rally.

We have been hard at work with MassDOT’s Transportation Advisory Committee, Transportation for Massachusetts, and our fellow advocacy groups to try to find a better solution. In a recent meeting, the choice was framed in the following way:

1. Massive service cuts, substantial fare increase; or
2. Massive fare increase, fewer service cuts

But this is a false choice, because neither option will solve the MBTA’s underlying financial problems, and both will have unacceptable impacts on transit riders and everyone else. Without a more comprehensive solution, within a year we will be back discussing further fare increases and service cuts.

The public meetings so far have been totally packed, and also full of anger directed toward the MBTA. The reality, however, is that the T’s options are limited; it can only raise fares or cut service to balance its budget. If you don’t like either proposal, the real audience is the Legislature, because they are the only ones who can allocate more funding to the T.

What You Can Do To Help

1. Contact your state representative and senator and let them know that you want them to find a permanent solution for the MBTA and transportation funding.

2. Go to one of the ongoing MBTA public meetings to demonstrate to the T and to legislators that there is a widespread call for a real solution to this problem.

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