Important Caltrain Vote on July 2 on the Future of Bike Access

Transit agencies with service in San Francisco are all facing the same pressing question: How do aging public transit systems upgrade, expand and modernize for the future?

We can tell you one thing for certain: bicycles are a big part of that modernized future. We’re lucky that in the Bay Area, Caltrain has historically been a leader in providing bike space on board. They are now in the process of making important decisions about the future of its system, and we need your support to ensure the system is the best it can be for bikes.

On July 2, the Caltrain Joint Powers Board of Directors will be approving the guidelines for what the new car design must include, which will determine how much space there are for bikes. We recently submitted a letter to the Caltrain Board, in which we encourage them to do the following:

  • Set a transit agency goal that a minimum of 20% of passengers will access Caltrain by bike by 2020;
  • Provide bike capacity for at least 16% of Caltrain passengers, or approximately a 6:1 seat-to-bike space ratio;
  • Allocate and invest significant resources, including funding, staff time and station space, to develop robust bike parking facilities and plan for the integration of the upcoming bike share expansion;
  • Ensure the most accessible platform and car design as possible for all passengers, including seniors, children, people with disabilities and people bringing bicycles onboard.

If you agree that bikes are an integral part of Caltrain’s future, please take a moment to send an email to the Caltrain Board with your own experience combining bikes with Caltrain. Feel free to use the talking points above as a guide for how Caltrain can provide you with more options to integrate biking with transit.

We also encourage you to join us at the Caltrain Board meeting on July 2 when they make their final decision about the new car design.

Write a Letter of Support Today

Speak Up on July 2

We appreciate the amount of time that Caltrain has taken to discuss this issue and the needs of people biking. We hear from hundreds of our members who have gotten bumped, had their bike stolen due to lack of secure bike parking at Caltrain stations or just wish they had more options to get to and from Caltrain by bike. We are continuing to work closely with Caltrain staff to provide convenient and safe options for everyone using a bike to get to or from their Caltrain trip.

In particular, we are thrilled that Caltrain recently announced that their staff are recommending an injection of $3 million in capital funds to build out bike parking options at stations. This investment will support recommendations from the current study Caltrain is undergoing to better understand what a successful bike parking system would look like.

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