Thu 12 Jun 2008
CT Gov Demands Bike Storage on New Trains
Posted by TJ under Bike to Work
Connecticut Governor Jodi Rell says the 380 new M-8 cars on order for Metro-North’s New Haven Line should be modified to allow for bike storage, reports the Journal News.
Rell told New Haven Mayor John DeStefano that the design can be modified because the first of the new cars are not scheduled for delivery until next year. The changes will be made by the state Department of Transportation.
She’s getting resistance from the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council, who says commuters’ asses should have first priority over bikes.
June 12th, 2008 at 10:51 am
This is such a tough problem - bikes are so rare on Metro-North overall - its tough to allocate space which will 99% of the time be unoccupied on a multi-million-dollar train, much less pay for the energy to move that part of the train around without a passenger - plus that extra space for the bike has no revenue when its full as the bike has not ticket.
Then, consider how often people are left standing to begin with. Its true, seats are more important.
I truly sympathize with both parties on this topic, bicyclists deserve the space, but we hold MTA accountable for smart spending.