MARC trains now have bike racks (that you can't use for 10 months)

At the beginning of the year, MARC announced that they would spend the year adding bike racks to their trains. 

the Maryland Transit Administration will spend $196,000 over the next year to add bicycle racks to its 22 daily commuter trains. The goal is to have at least one car equipped with bike racks on each train by spring 2018, officials said.

Because MARC currently only allows fold-up bicycles, which are generally more expensive, on weekday commuter trains, few of its estimated 39,000 daily riders bring bikes with them, said MTA Administrator Paul Comfort.

MARC began allowing bikes on its weekend Penn Line trains in 2014 by replacing seats on one side of a car with a long rows of racks, but those cars aren't practical for weekday use because the racks take up too much valuable seat space.

Instead, MTA will outfit 15 train cars with a more out-of-the-way solution: a pair of vertical bike racks plus storage space at the end of a car, replacing three seats in the corner.

Well, someone (Matt C) finally spotted one of these new racks post-installaion and sent me a photo

But it looks like, according to the sign, you won't be able to use them until Summer 2018.

The cars will be marked on the outside, so bicycle-toting riders can find them. Each car can accommodate two bicycles. Conductors will monitor the number of bicycles on the racks, and as demand increases, officials will add bike rack cars on each train, MARC director Erich Kolig said.

"We're going to start small: one per train," he said. "We'll see how it goes from there."

The MTA doesn't track how many passengers ride their bikes to MARC stations and lock them up before boarding the train.

Of course not. Why would you?

The current weekend cars, with their full rows of bike racks, average about five bikes at any given time

It's going to be hard to bring a full-sized bike and rely on being able to bring it with only 2 spaces per train. We'll see how they handle that. 

In other MARC/bike news, they replaced a bunch of bike parking at stations this summer. 

MARC Train is replacing bicycle racks at several stations.  Please take note of the stations and dates below.  On the dates indicated, the old bike racks will be removed and new racks installed, therefore there will be no bike racks available on the dates indicated.  Any bikes that are attached to the old racks will be removed.

• Odenton: August 21 - 23
• Laurel: August 24
• Frederick: August 28
• Germantown: August 29 - 30
• Brunswick: August 31

Not sure if this was a one-for-one replacement or if now they have more, or if the parking is better. But it is newer. [Also, sorry if you lost your bike]. While we're at it, check out the covered bike parking in Baltimore as seen in this Baltimore Sun video. Just a little bit of tin, but it goes a long way.

Here's MTA's bike policy for you policy nerds. 

Comments

[drumz]

VRE also only allows two (full-sized) bikes per train and you have to set it up in the disabled seating area that has fold down seats. This can require asking someone (non-disabled) who just happens to be sitting there to get up and move which has had me see some awkward interactions.

I don't know if any cyclist has ever had to get off or move because someone in a wheelchair wanted to board.

[NeilB]

I commute on the MARC Brunswick line to Silver Spring. I ride my folding bike to the station and bring it with me on the train. With only two bike spaces per train, it's hard to imagine that I would switch to a regular bike. If the train comes and both bike spaces are taken, I'll still need to be able to fold up my bike to take it on the train.

Just as an aside, even with a folding bike it can be tricky finding a place to stash it when the train is really full.