Public transit’s enthusiasm for this month’s National Bike Month, while altered by COVID-19, still shines.
By Stephanie Jordan
Managing Editor
Transit California
Just as many bicycle enthusiasts across California look forward every May to National Bike Month, so too do public transit agencies eager to promote the combination of biking and public transit as an alternative to driving a car. The integration provides the traveling public with an energy-efficient choice to reach their longer-trip destinations more quickly. Last year the pandemic shut down the annual event, as people sheltered in place and followed strict COVID-19 guidelines.
Now a year later, data is revealing that the pandemic created a huge exercise boom in the U.S., with bikes at its center. New bicycles have been in short supply for months, and some shops have entirely sold out. Laura Bliss, a writer and editor for CityLab, reports that Strava, the fitness tracking app used by 68 million global users, shows that several U.S. cities saw significant year-over-year growth in both bike trips and cyclists in much of 2020. She says that among the six U.S. cities that stand out for which Strava provided data is Los Angeles, where 1 percent of the population biked to work in pre-pandemic times. She notes the total volume of cycling trips in Los Angeles was 93 percent higher in May 2020 than in May 2019.
Joe Lindsey of Outside reports that “In the initial months of the pandemic, demand was driven by what Dirk Sorenson, executive director of market research company NPD Group, calls family riding. Casual, fitness, and children’s bikes flew off shelves. The months of March and April were when things really started to surge. Sales of kids’ bikes increased 100 percent, fitness bikes went up 125 percent, and lifestyle bikes like beach cruisers escalated by a whopping 200 percent year over year from April 2019.”
Continues Lindsey, “Just as the jump in casual categories began to fade, higher-priced enthusiast categories started to surge. Gravel [a drop-bar bike designed to ride over many different surfaces] was already one of the hottest segments for the bike industry, but the pandemic supercharged it, with sales jumping 144 percent in June 2020 compared to 2019. August and October saw 94 percent and 110 percent year-over-year increases, respectively. Mountain bikes and urban/fitness bikes, which saw double-digit increases in June, were up 116 and 126 percent year over year, respectively.”
Most experts that follow the space believe this surge in bicycling is a trend that will continue past the pandemic recovery as people realize, as stated in Lindsey’s article, the “transformative power of bikes for transportation, not just recreation.”
This is good news for public transit agencies as the integration of active transportation, public transportation, social justice, environmental justice, and climate goals are intersecting more and more.
While the pandemic is once again having an impact on the celebrations of National Bike Month, transit agencies across California this month are nevertheless celebrating cycling. Here is a sampling of the combination of bicycling and public transit happening around the state.
Metrolink
A direct witness to the surge in cycling, Metrolink saw its share of riders traveling with bikes more than double since last March, from an average of 2.4 percent to 5.3 percent. The agency is working to make pairing cycling with rail travel easy with a variety of convenient amenities, including bike storage lockers at 23 stations, bike racks at 34 stations and dedicated bike cars on select trains that hold nine bikes on the lower level.
“It’s been exciting to see such a dramatic increase in riders boarding with bikes this last year. The combination of public transportation and cycling for first and last mile travel leads to a positive long-term impact on our health and our environment,” comments Ara Najarian, Metrolink Board Chair and Councilmember for Glendale.
Among the May celebrations, the agency offered free travel during “Bike to Work Week” for those who board with bicycles, as well as an Aventon e-bike giveaway of a PACE 500 worth $1,499 at retail, which features a 40-mile average range and goes up to 28 miles-per-hour. The agency is also launching rail-friendly bike excursions specially curated by AllTrails, with routes that offer adventures the whole family can enjoy that start within two miles of Metrolink tracks featuring mountain trails, road biking expeditions, or trails less traveled.
Metrolink also arranged a free bike safety webinar with the Los Angeles County Bike Coalition (LACBC) to provide tips on the safest way to travel with bikes when using public transportation. Attendees learned how to take extra precautions around rail crossings and additional tips for making any railway trip easier, safer, and more convenient with a bike.
“Since the pandemic started, we’re pleased to see that more cyclists are discovering Metrolink’s unique bike trains, which is also helping reduce toxic emissions in the air we breathe,” concludes Metrolink CEO Stephanie Wiggins. “We hope Bike Month can help raise more awareness about how traveling with a bike on Metrolink is easy and convenient.”
City of Culver City
This month, as part of its Move Culver City Tactical Mobility Lane Pilot Project, Culver City begins mobility lane implementation, community art installation, signal adjustments, and bus stop improvements to reimagine Culver City streets as public spaces and prioritizes moving people over cars in street design. The mobility lane will be installed for up to 24 months and will use painted lanes, temporary signs, planters, curb stops, traffic tape, and other materials that are temporary and easy to implement, yet clear and effective.
On May 18, 2020, the City Council of the City of Culver City directed staff to plan and implement the quick-build mobility lane pilot project to test and demonstrate the benefits of such infrastructure to maximize the use of the roadway and improve mobility. On July 13, the City Council voted unanimously to move forward.
The aim of the project is to create mobility lanes in both directions on the 1.3-mile stretch of Culver Blvd. and Washington Blvd. between Culver Blvd./Duquesne Ave. and Washington Blvd./La Cienega Ave. This corridor will connect Downtown Culver City with the E-Line Culver City Station and the Arts District, supporting major commercial and job centers. The mobility lane will offer a different mobility option to bikers, scooters, emergency vehicles and transit – including Culver CityBus, Santa Monica’s Big Blue Bus, Metro and Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) bus lines. These mobility stops will be built with signage and furniture, as well as artistic sidewalk treatments. The plans also call for ‘micro mobility drop zones’ for scooter share and bike-share riders to drop their vehicles off without impeding pedestrian traffic.
In addition to enhancing the infrastructure for transit, bikes and scooters, the MOVE Culver City Project will also enhance the mobility services by implementing a Circulator service and a Microtransit service, which will leverage the mobility lanes to provide faster and more reliable service in the Downtown area. The Circulator service is expected to launch when the mobility lanes are operational followed by the Microtransit service at a future date. The project will also fast track all of the bus stop improvements in the corridor and create three gateway mobility stops at the termini of the corridor (City Hall and the Arts District) and at the E-Line Culver City Station.
The Move Culver City Tactical Mobility Lane Pilot Project is expected to go live fully in June with the results of the project’s implementation to be evaluated for a first review in fall of 2021, and a final review and recommendation for potential permanent solutions in 2022.
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SFMTA
Bike to Work Day (BTWD) is traditionally held on the third Friday of May, however, due to continued COVID-19 mitigation, many workers remain at home and remotely report to work. In recognition of this, BTWD 2021 instead became Bike to Wherever Day and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), like other Bay Area transit agencies, used the day to support cycling and transit.
As a sponsor of Bike to Wherever Day, SFMTA encouraged everyone, including those who don't usually bike, to get out and ride using a personally owned or a bike share. On Bike to Wherever Day those biking could stop by one of 12 energizer stations that were hosted citywide around San Francisco giving away free canvas tote bags, filled with goodies and collectibles, courtesy of the SF Bicycle Coalition.
The SFMTA developed handy resources to help riders plan bicycle trips, including an interactive bike network map that highlights recommended routes and shows bike share station locations. To help meet the needs of an increasing number of people riding bicycles in San Francisco, SFMTA supports bicycling by building dedicated bike lanes around the city, and by making streets safer and more comfortable for bicycling. SFMTA has implemented the Slow Streets Program with nearly 30 new corridors implemented since the start of the pandemic as a way to limit traffic on certain residential streets to be used as a shared space for people traveling by foot and by bicycle.
As San Francisco begins the re-opening process, an increase in traffic congestion and added pressure on public transit service is anticipated. SFMTA used Bike to Wherever Day to remind participants that Muni buses are already at capacity providing service for transit-dependent San Franciscans and essential workers, and encouraged the use of other sustainable modes to get around the city. At its Get Out, Get Going website riders can find an interactive multi-mode map with information about other sustainable ways to get to a destination when paired with a bicycle trip, including walking and using shared mobility devices, like a scooter or moped.
Caltrain
Like SFMTA, Caltrain celebrated Bike to Wherever Day acknowledging that BTWD was on hiatus due to the pandemic. The agency took advantage of the day to remind cyclists that Caltrain service is available to help riders get to “wherever your wherever happens to be.”
Through the first four months of 2021, Caltrain installed electronic, on demand bike lockers at twelve stations. Belmont, Redwood City, Lawrence, Mountain View and San Jose Diridon stations received new eLockers in February, while the California Avenue, Hillsdale, Palo Alto, San Antonio, San Bruno, San Carlos and Sunnyvale stations have had them installed in the past month. The addition of over 180 eLockers means that there are currently more than 300 eLockers throughout the Caltrain system at 18 stations. Caltrain will continue to monitor the use of the eLockers and add more as demand increases. The standard fee for an eLocker is $.05 per hour, with night and weekends priced at $.02 per hour. The eLockers are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. In the past, Caltrain rented keyed lockers to individual users, but the new eLockers will give people with bikes more flexibility and increase locker availability.
Prior to COVID-19, Caltrain served approximately 10,000 bicyclists every weekday. Ten percent of customers typically bring a bike onboard. Survey data has found that many of these riders do so because they do not have a secure place to leave their bike at the station. This effort will provide those customers with an easy to use, secure facility and help alleviate some of the demand for bike space on trains. Expanding station bike parking is critical to meeting the Caltrain Business Plan's projected future ridership, which is expected to triple by 2040.
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Caltrain offers a number of bike parking options at stations, including bike valet, shared parking garages, electronic lockers, keyed lockers, and racks. The eLockers are also available at many BART, Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA), SFMTA, and Capitol Corridor stations throughout the Bay Area.
OCTA
To encourage people of all ages to travel by bicycle during the month of May, the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) lead a month-long challenge called Bike Everywhere Month. The agency asked participants to pledge to ride as many days as they could during May, not just for better health, but to discover the fun and convenience of active transportation.
Bike Everywhere Month was created to replace Bike to Work Week in recognition of the many remote workers observing COVID-19 restrictions and remaining at home. The re-tooled program added flexibility to meet the current needs and schedules of Orange County bicyclists, giving plenty of options for rides from the foothills to the beaches, using Orange County’s more than 1,000 miles of bikeways. A 31-day calendar sported daily suggestions for a ride each day with various activities such as: Bike with a family member or friend, bike to run an errand, bike to get a snack or bike on a new trail.
By pledging online participants could earn entries for prizes. Pledging to ride 1-10 days earned one entry, 11-20 days earned two entries, and 21-31 days earned three entries. Prizes, sponsored by Spectrumotion and Jax Bicycle Centers, included a grand award of a Trek FX 2 Disc Bike valued at $699.99 and a runner-up prize of a Saris Bones 2-Bike Bike Rack valued at $169.99.
OCTA, while asking cyclists to be smart and stay safe, also reminded riders that they were helping to improve Orange County’s air quality.
Santa Clarita
Some cities, like the City of Santa Clarita, kept the tradition of Bike to Work Week, however, in observation of COVID-19 restrictions did not host refreshment stations. As part of the celebration, Santa Clarita Transit participated by offering free rides to those whose commutes were too long to complete solely by bicycle. Riders simply had to present their bike or helmet to the driver upon boarding.
The City of Santa Clarita also held a friendly competition among local businesses to see which employer could get the most employees to bike to work throughout Bike to Work Week. While asking everyone to practice safe COVID-19 protocols, riders had the chance to enter a prize raffle multiple times by biking to work on any or all days during the designated week.
Metro
Since Metro Bike Share’s launch in 2016, bikes have been available 24/7, 365 days a year for short trips helping to connect people to other Metro services and beyond. On behalf of Metro, Bicycle Transit Systems manages all operational elements of Metro Bike Share, including bike and station maintenance, marketing, and customer service.
This month Metro celebrated Bike Month in a variety of ways including a Bike Week that culminated in Bike Anywhere Day. The agency encouraged riders to make a commitment to ride every day. On Bike Anywhere Day, Metro offered discounts on Bike Share with a FREE 1-Ride Pass, or the purchase of a 365-Day Pass for just $75 (usually $150) online or in the Metro Bike Share app with a special code. The agency also presented an hour long online Metro Bike Share Bicycling 101 Class to teach the basics of bicycle safety and learn how to use Metro Bike Share. Cyclists were also encouraged to explore Los Angeles and its neighborhoods using crafted self-paced ride guides to help riders find good routes and interesting sites to visit across LA County.
Bike month is an important occasion for Metro, so much so that last year, with COVID-19 safer-at-home best practices cancelling activities in May 2020, the agency opted to celebrate in September. The agency declared Bike Month in September with a Ride a Bike Day held on September 22, which coincided with World Car Free Day. Metro also offered virtual bike safety classes, self-guided bike rides, and other incentives to help cyclists get around LA County safely.
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In recognition of essential workers this past year, Metro offers discounted Bike Share passes. The program included the 365-Day Pass at a discounted rate of $75 to essential workers. The 50 percent savings included unlimited 30-minute Metro Bike Share rides and waived the unlocking fee for the Electric Metro Bike.
Even with a discount, Metro understands that not everyone that needs a bike can afford Bike Share prices. To address this, Metro recently launched a new Adopt-a-Bike program to improve mobility for those in need. With the goal to increase access to jobs, recreation, and other opportunities, the program administrators distribute bikes that Metro collects that have been left behind on Metro bus, rail, and its facilities. The agency collects hundreds of bicycles every month. Even as these bicycles are held for 90 days at Metro’s lost and found less than 25 percent are claimed by their owners. Prior to the launch of the Adopt-a-Bike program, the bicycles went to auction.
Pre-pandemic Metro staff began exploring how else these bikes might be used. A workshop was held with Community Based Organizations (CBOs) and through those efforts the Adopt-a-Bike program emerged. The Metro Board of Directors approved the program last summer. To launch Adopt-a-Bike, Metro selected six CBOs to assist with the program via a competitive process. The plan is for the CBOs to hold bike distribution events throughout L.A. County over the next year.
A Natural Companion
The advancement of active transportation has become much more than a month long celebration of the bicycle. As local events throughout California demonstrate during Bike Month, despite alterations to accommodate COVID-19 protocols, bicycling and transit are a natural extension of one another. This fact may become even better understood, if the trend in cycling that began during the pandemic continues past recovery leading to greater awareness of the holistic transportation options that can exist between pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders.