Parking at Metro to get a little bit better (bikes only)

WMATA announced last week that the secure bike facility at the College Park Metro will now be free of charge with a registered SmarTrip® card. 

That's good news and should help WMATA to better utilize the facility. When it opened in May 2012, the price was 2-5 cents per hour (depending on the time of day) and a one-time $5 sign-up fee, so it's not as though this was prohibitively expensive or a cash cow for WMATA.

I don't know how much it was being used recently, but a review the following August showed it to have one of the highest rates of empty spaces. Most of the PG County stations had high rates of unused racks. Perhaps the drop in price - and increase in convenience - will result in more use. 

More secure bike parking is on the way

Bike storage rooms similar to the one in College Park are under construction at the East Falls Church and Vienna Metro stations and scheduled to open next month, the transit agency said. All Bike and Ride facilities are planned to be accessed with a SmarTrip card.

And doing a little math, it looks like WMATA has added 800 bike parking spaces to their system since 2012 (they also added the Silver Line). They probably need to add more racks. At least they got rid of those old jaws-of-death racks. 

Comments

[SJE]

I'd guess part of the reason the bike racks are underutilized is that the bike-unfriendly road infrastructure

[washcycle]

I don't think you can say that at College Park. The Anacostia trails run right next to it and the Trolley Trail is only a few blocks away. the area between US-1 and the metro are very bike friendly.

[Greenbelt]

Bike racks seem pretty full to me at College Park, but only on the UMD side, not the parking garage side where the indoor bike station is.

Likewise Greenbelt Metro is usually full in the indoor section, but not full in the outdoor sections.

[jeffb]

Could it be that people don't realize the indoor parking is even there?

Metro's changes are for the good. Maybe they now need to do a little bit of marketing and perhaps put some signage up by the exterior racks directing cyclists to the indoor parking.

[JimT]

Will it be less secure, now that anyone can get in?

I felt safe leaving my bike in the Bike and Ride, without taking off my lights, which are probably worth more than the bike.

I didn't mind paying 5 cents an hour, except for when I accidentally signed in twice and for a month was paying 5 cents an hour whenever my bike was not at the station.

What I mind is that I have to go to College Park for a facility like this, when another station is closer to my house (and not at the bottom of a hill).

[washcycle]

Not anyone can get in (not anymore than before). You still need to register your SmartCard and swipe in.

[JimT]

Hopefully. Can't you register a smart card under a fictitious name after paying for it with cash? The Bike-and-Ride card seemed to include more significant efforts to make sure you were you, including a picture taking session of sorts.