Mission Mission

Every time I ride BART, I’ve always noticed the sign at the bottom of the escalator that forcefully commands, “No Bikes on Escalator,” and have wondered why that is the case.  A periodic loudspeaker announcement clarifies that it’s for our own safety and that of our fellow BART riders, but this has always seemed like a cop-out to me.

I really can’t tell what’s so dangerous about holding a bike on an escalator while it’s moving upwards.  Surely, you don’t need to monopolize the whole escalator like the person above is doing; there is plenty of space to fit both you and your bicycle while also keeping an avenue open on the left side for others who want to pass.  Moreover, doesn’t it seem even more dangerous for a smallish individual to attempt to lug his or her bicycle up that daunting BART staircase?

Some quick research reveals that while some people are completely against the idea, certain situations sometimes make it a necessity.  So, how do YOU feel about bikes on escalators?  Can anyone provide a cogent reason for why this is a forbidden practice?

[Photo by tinka516]

Tough crowd for one 24th st. busker.

[photo and title by Marty Your Friend]

“Stay with me baby,” he begs.

I bet you want to know want to know what’s going on here. After the jump there might be an answer — or there might just be more confusion: (more…)

There are times when I wish everyone didn’t have a camera on their phone.

[via facebook]

Previously:

BART Boner
BART Buttcrack

Doctor Popular reminds us how bicyclists often get shafted on BART:

Yesterday a rider cut in front of me as I was boarding the train and she took up this whole seat. There were at least 40 other seats open for her, so I asked if she would mind letting me use that space. “I was here first” she replied. Then I asked if she would at least move her bags so I could sit in the seat next to her while I propped my bike against the wall and she said “I need the whole seat”.

All this seems to come from a general sense of passenger animosity towards people who have the nerve to bring their bikes on board. I’ve had some seriously unsafe rides due to folks not offering up those spots. In a way, it forces you to take up more space and disturb even more passengers.

Doc Pop commenter Colin brings up a great point about how the whole process is flawed:

Note that even in that space the bike wheel sticks into the doorway. Bikes on BART is a kludge.

Newer cars have improved designated bike areas, but they are few and far between. The SF Bicycle Coalition confirms that they are working to address the issue:

We are asking BART to allocate space on board their trains for bikes so that they won’t interfere with other passengers and can be stowed safely for the duration of your trip. BART plans to remove seats on 80 of its 500 train cars for a first phase and is expected to modify the rest as funding becomes available.

For many, the commute hours rules (bikes only allowed 8:50am-4:25pm) eliminate the practicality of biking for many daily work commuters. A 2009 SFBC survey of BART riding cyclists confirmed that the commute blackout period is one of the biggest headaches about commuting. No word on if or when lifting this restriction will ever be considered.

Yo dawg, I heard you like less stabbing and lunch money stealing in your BART station so we took a 2.1 million dollar grant and removed those planter boxes.

SF Appeal reports:

On Thursday, the transit company is scheduled to accept a $2.1 million grant from the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, as reported by the Ex. This money will go toward making the Mission district station cleaner and, they say, more secure for those that use it.

Get the full scoop at SF Appeal.

Looks like this went live today!  BART.gov just launched a new revamped trip planner that uses the Google Maps API.  Now there’s an address tab in the QuickPlanner that allows you to enter addresses (or cross streets) in addition to mere BART stations in order to plan your Bay Area trips more precisely.

The cool thing about it is that you can seamlessly add in bicycle and walking directions, which weren’t there before, and it overall works really well. This is currently the only implementation of its type live on a transit site, which makes it kinda cool and innovative . . . nice work dudes!

So, to help illustrate how it works, say I’m planning on seeing a Saturday movie at the classy Grand Lake Theatre in Oakland, and the movie starts at 8pm.  I click on the address tab in the QuickPlanner, enter my address (or cross streets in this example, not that anyone would bother stalking me) in the start box, and then type “3200 grand, Oakland” [(address, city) or (street @ street, city) and yes, you have to actually type out "San Francisco", since "SF" alone is not sufficient lazybones] in the destination box, and viola! 

The detailed screen above pops up and shows me when I should leave for the BART station (and how to get there, duh), as well as what line I should take.  Then I can click on the bicycle tab to give me customized safe biking directions from the 19th Street station to the theatre, so I can finally see Inception like the rest of America.  Thanks BART and Google!

Just don’t try using your Clipper Card . . .

Every Friday morning, 24th/Mission BART commuters are serenaded with the lyrical stylings of this wandering shade of Johnny Cash.  Too bad I wasn’t able to capture “Walk the Line” in this particular instance.

Apologies for the shaky video, as I was walking with a slow, dragging limp.

Sexy P says that we have our own way of killing our thirty-year-olds.

In this video, Lesch from the California Honeydrops (with bonus Quinn Deveaux on the tub bass!) talks about playing music in BART stations. I was really interested to hear how he has found that he could tell exactly what kind of day the passengers have had just by looking at their faces.

As a daily commuter, I know regularly I barrel past buskers without even giving them a glance, even if I really dig what they’re doing. Maybe it’s because I think I’m in a hurry. Maybe it’s because I really have had a shitty day. Or maybe it’s because I don’t have any singles or I don’t feel like tipping. At any rate, I think I’ll be more conscious of it in the future.

There, now aren’t you glad that dude’s balls are no longer the topmost post? I am.