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Comments
Aren't all bikes technically
Aren't all bikes technically banned on the subway during morning & afternoon rush hours?
Yes
The limitations are on the MBTA website.
One exception
Folding bikes are allowed, but they have to be folded.
They are allowed at alll times ...
... on the Blue line and never on the Green line.
Blue Line
Bikes (other than folders) are NOT allowed on the Blue Line at "all times". Read the MBTA Bikes page for the rules.
Bikes are not allowed on the
Bikes are not allowed on the Blue Line in the peak direction during rush hour (i.e. they are allowed outbound in the morning, and inbound in the evening).
Yes, although
that rule isn't heavily advertised. I first found out about it after living in the area a couple of years and being told off by a T employee.
One of my many wishes for Boston-area transit is to have a system like the one out in California my wife has told me about (Caltran?) where there are vertical lockups on the trains, making for dense bike packing. Of course, that has to get in line behind things like "make the trains run at all in winter".
Bikes are fantastic range extenders when combined with commuter rail and even subway. Weird that someone would bring a Hubway bike on the train, but maybe someone who uses Hubway more can explain the reasoning.
They're only blocked if you let them
I refuse to stand so someone's feet, bag, or bike is more comfortable. Move the damn thing or get off. Welcome to the city during rush hour asshole. You can also dock that bike, take the T, and get a completely different bike at your destination - all without taking up 4 seats. The beauty of the bike sharing is you only have to ride them, not take them with you everywhere and guard them.
All kinds of wrong
Subway after 4 and before 7 - check
BluBike on T - check
Massive Backpack - check
Pretty much the Clueless Douche Trifecta going on here.
Not clueless douche
Actively asshole
Nothing wrong with a Blue
Nothing wrong with a Blue Bike on the T outside rush hour. What if there isn't a dock at the station where you're getting on?
Nothing wrong with a massive backpack either, as long as you take it off (like this person did). People carrying stuff have to get places too.
Sullivan Square
There's no Blue Bike station at Sullivan Square, which is almost criminal. I can definitely see it making sense to take a Blue Bike on the T to there, then biking to a station, when it's not rush hour.
Sullivan Square
I agree that there should be a station here (and I don't know why there isn't), but there is one nearby at Broadway and Mount Vernon Street in East Somerville. I believe part of this year's expansion plan is to add a dock at Assembly Row.
There's a Blue Bikes dock at the end of Broadway
There's a Blue Bikes dock at the end of Broadway on the other side of the highway. It's not ideal, and because several of the streets around there are one-way it can be a bit of a detour to get there, but it's a five minute walk from the train station so it's "at Sullivan Square" in the broad sense of the words. One directly in front of the entrance would certainly be nice, though.
This is where fines should come into place
If not, this will keep happening
What a great branding opportunity
for Blue Cross Blue Shield of MA.
Can I get a HIPAA-like enforceable privacy policy for all usage data of those bikes?
We know dotcoms are sociopaths, but we have higher standards for BCBS.
Oh my, you're funny
BWAAAAHAHAHA! Funny joke, dude!
If there is any justice...
...the train will be delayed and they'll get charged extra for exceeding the 30 or 45 minute limit. Bikes not permitted on the Orange or Red lines 7-10 AM and 4-7 PM. (Blue line restrictions end an hour earlier, and are only in the peak commuting direction.)
WTF?
For the record, you aren't supposed to have any bike but a folding bike on there from 4-7.
You also aren't supposed to put it there - end of the car.
Moreover ... WHY??? I really can't think of where you would go that wouldn't have Blubikes nearby? You pay for that time.
Finally - I've run into many T folks who think it is their MISSION on EARTH to harass owners of folding bikes if they aren't folded the SECOND they walk into the station ... which is wrong, but geesh where the hell were they?
And what exactly is the problem with folding your bike
BEFORE you get into the station? Seems that's the logical way to address the "issue" you raise.
As for Blue Bikes, do they have some sort of easily recognizable ID number so that, if they receive reports of such behavior, Blue Bikes can then identify the person that last rented the bike before the alleged incident? If a person suddenly finds out they are on "double secret probation" and can't rent another bike for a period of time, this might go a long way to discouraging such a'hole behavior like this.
Hello sweet anon
The EXACT PROBLEM: Folding it IS NOT REQUIRED in the station or on the platform while getting TO the train. The T workers have no basis to demand it be otherwise.
You could EASILY have determined that from READING THE RULES, which, like some of the T personnel who enjoy yelling ESCAPE IS FUTILE, you didn't bother doing.
Also, folding it means carrying it and carrying it means that it is more likely to bang into someone than if it is smoothly rolling onto the platform and on and off an elevator with functional brakes and bags attached, and folded only once the final boarding spot is achieved.
With commuter rail, I usually roll on to the platform and pull aside to fold right at the door I am boarding at.
Sorry, but the rules are that it has to be folded ON THE TRAIN not ON THE PLATFORM or IN THE STATION. The solution is that T personnel need to know the damn rules before they open their mouths.
You complain and condemn if
You complain and condemn if someone takes up space in the train car with a not-folded bike - but you blithely take up space in an elevator with your not-folded bike?
Nice double-standard.
Not a huge deal if you do it right
Disclaimer: I've never tried it with a Blue Bike, but at my old workplace, I'd stand my bike on the back wheel in the elevator. It's basically flat, and it does take up some room, but so does a folded bike. I'm guessing it's probably about a wash.
Are you serious?
Are you serious?
There are complaints about this?
You're making up problems.
Take your suitcase you are travelling with and insert it into your empty skull cavity.
Thank you.
I don't own a folding bike
I don't own a folding bike and have no interest in taking one on the T, but if for some reason I had to, I know I would prefer to roll rather than carry it to the platform if the rules don't prohibit that.
Well, in order to get the folded bike onto a T car
it must be folded. And, logically, one would fold said bike in the station or on the platform, no?
See for reference:
https://www.mbta.com/bikes
"Folding bikes are allowed on all services at all times if they’re completely folded."
The folded bike, which I have see carried as folded, appears to me no less cumbersome that someone pushing said bike. Actually, probably less as I compare the size of said folded bike to the size of a bike not folded. So I do not agree that you are more likely to "bang into someone" carrying a folded bike.
I do not see, on this MBTA page, where the rules say "that it (said folding bike) has to be folded ON THE TRAIN (yells) and not "ON THE PLATFORM (yells again). Perhaps you could direct me to where that is? And if there is an inconsistency in T rules, perhaps you could let them know?
And nice insult to the T personnel. Way to go. I feel for them, those who have to deal with folks like you on a daily basis.
Bikes
I would actually like to see T personnel once stop or ask about a bike as they get rolled through the gate on the orange line. i have never seen anyone get stopped, not once even after I have pointed it out to T personnel. Shame that those like you that follow the rules get harassed and the rest do not.
I regularly encounter orange
I regularly encounter orange line operators yelling at people that they can't bring their bikes on the train during rush hour. Usually it'll be someone waiting with one at a station downtown, and the operator will be making "no bikes!" announcements as the train is coming into the station, and keep repeating them as the train is loading. Sometimes if there's T station staff nearby they'll come assist.
It may not be as regular as it should, but it does happen.
Then there was the time I
Then there was the time I tried to get on an outbound train at Harvard at the tail of the AM rush hour with a bike. The station agent absolutely would not let me on. It made no difference that the trains are always empty at that point, and it was raining, and I was only taking the train because the 77 bus left early.
bikes
so they rolled the bike right past the station people at the gate and only if the driver yells does anything happen.
There aren't "station people"
There aren't "station people" at the gate the vast majority of the time.
At State (where I have the most experience), things have gotten better since they hired those red-shirted contractors. There's always 2 of them at the Old State House Entrance keeping an eye on the 3 gates there, but there are plenty of other entrances that are entirely unstaffed (e.g. Devonshire/Water). And even at an entrance that has staff, it's definitely possible to enter while they're distracted helping some clueless tourist.
It's neither possible nor practical to have an employee standing at every gate making sure no one can enter the station with something they're not supposed to. So yeah, sometimes it falls on the driver to tell someone they can't bring something on the train.
Some folding bikes can be
Some folding bikes can be rolled when they're folded. It's a really convenient feature.
By the way...
By the way...
What is this "T personnel" and "station staff" that everyone keeps referring to?
"You pay for that time" -- maybe not anymore
When Hubway became Blue Bikes, they raised the price of a 24-hour pass from $8 to $10, but they also changed how long one can ride without additional charge from 30 minutes to 2 hours.. What you see here may be an unintended consequence.
I didn't know there was a $2
I didn't know there was a $2.50 single-trip option. Is that new?
Yes, 30-minute single trip for $2.50 is new
They introduced this when they rebranded from Hubway to Blue Bikes. At the same time, they changed the price and terms of the 24-hour pass, and eliminated the 72-hour pass. And they extended maximum ride time for members from 30 to 45 minutes.
Hubway experimented with single-trip pricing (then $1) once before, during the Commonwealth Avenue bridge construction last summer.
Wellington, Malden, Oak Grove
are on the Orange Line but outside Blue Bike territory. (Still no excuse for doing this.)
Forest Hills is also beyond the edge of Blue Bikes, but is easily reached from nearby docks at Green Street or South Street in JP.
Bike might be at the end of the car, even in this photo
Many or most cars don't have their seats configured in a way that lets you put a bike sideways against the end of the car. When I bring a bike on the T (only during proper hours), it ends up looking like this. I try to keep it far enough out in the aisle so that people can still sit in the seats, but that isn't always possible.
I try to keep my bike in a
I try to keep my bike in a doorway on the side that doesn't open, if there are a few stations in a row that open on the same side. This doesn't work if someone is already standing there.
If I'm standing there without a bike and someone boards with a bike, I offer them the spot.
Some transit systems have designated spots for bikes. I think this would be a good idea.
Moreover ... WHY??? I really
As someone said, probably a first-timer or out-of-towner.
Another possibly would be if their destination station is perpetually bereft - empty bike dock - at their expected arrival time. They might think it worth the trouble to bring the bike from their origin point. At this point, I think the operator has plotted supply/demand curves pretty well, but it could happen.
Sullivan Square
Sullivan Square. No bike dock, plenty of bike docks to ride to.
Outside of rush hour tho.
Bike dock 1 block from sullivan
All you need to do is read a map.
It their defense
It’s not like there’s a way to cycle between Back Bay and Green Street or anything. It’s like I’ve always said- the should have put a bike path in when the built the Southwest Corridor. Thanks Obama!
Where does the Corridor bike path start/end?
Because there's a path in the JP/Roxbury stretch, at least up to Roxbury Crossing.
Back Bay to Forest Hills
Though there is no Hubway/Blue Bike Station at Forest Hills (yet.). The other stops with docking stations are Ruggles, Roxbury Crossing, and Jackson Square.
SW Corridor Park completed
SW Corridor Park completed circa 1990
Construction started 1978.
Thank you to the to locals who just started community gardens, etc. with the space and started healing the scars of the highway project and the transit project resulting from that. A taste of what could be builds hope.
I mean hope was an Obama keyword, but no... his influence was much later.
As I-m sure you know.
Someone
Needs to learn what sarcasm is. I mean, I laid it on strong, but the Obama reference should have been proof enough.
Also, construction didn’t begin until the 1980s.
My guess based on past experiences
1. The renter is someone from out of town (likely out of country) who has no idea how the bikeshare or subway system works. Good chance such a person isn't fluent in english.
2. Someone "found" the bike not correctly locked and is taking it back to their house or elsewhere. At least once a year I see a bike someone didn't dock correctly. Tourists also have a tendency to leave them unattended when they go into stores.
YOU CAN USE THE FULL LANE!!1!
(n/t)
Bike Bans
The T has so many rules that aren't enforced:
No smoking
No fare Jumping
No walking across tracks
No Parking on sidewalks of stations
No parking in bus stops
No blocking with carriages bigger than battleships
No vending without permits
No bikes during certain hours
No drinking on T property
No sex on T property
No drug dealing on T property
No loud music on T property
Hmmm...
"[Cyclists] make up a small percentage of those who [use the T] yet they are given the most space by far. Another example of why [cyclists] are resource hogs."