Commuter cyclists should be able to kick back and enjoy the ride

Wrote a letter-to-the editor to the Connecticut Post in response to a June 5, 2006 front page feature story entitled "On the bar car: Commuters kick back and enjoy the ride"

Connecticut Post Thursday June 8, 2006 Page A10

While I do not oppose bar cars as a relic from a bygone era, I do
find it objectionable and elitist that Metro-North and
Connecticut DOT officials as well as representatives
from the Metro-North Rail Commuter Council appear to
have no interest in setting aside bicycle parking on
train cars either now or in the future - that point in
time in which 342 new train cars are delivered.

Nor do they appear to advocate eliminating the arbitrary
and capricious "bicycle permit" required of cyclists
bringing bicycles on Metro-North when they are allowed
during off-peak hours and weekends.

While serving as governor of New Jersey, Christine Todd
Whitman dispensed with those permits in an effort to
create a more bicycle-friendly transit system.

And in California, commuter trains serving the San Jose to San
Francisco corridor have bicycle cars that were set up over a
decade ago to serve bicycle commuters all day and all
of the night.

With over 2,000 cyclists riding California trains daily, a camaderie exists between cyclists on those
bicycle cars even without serving drinks on board.

Bar cars only serve drinks between noon and 9 p.m.
Perhaps a first step would be to convert a section of
the bar cars for bicycle parking. An area set aside
for bicycle parking should also be included in the new
train car designs.

With rising traffic congestion and gas prices, its
time for Metro-North and other east coast commuter
rail agencies to accommodate (bicycle commuters) on board trains
during (peak) hours.*

Richard M. Stowe
Rail Transportation Excellence Coalition

* The editorial department made changes to the letter and the words in parentheses are words I added in to compensate for what may have been deleted to save space.