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Next Stop: Bikes on RTA
By David Callahan
City folk and suburbanites alike can expand their bicycling range
enormously by taking advantage of RTA transit connections.
Just as the North
Pacific Drift sweeps up and whisks sea turtles thousands of
miles between Japan and Mexico, CTA and Pace buses take you and
your bicycle distances that many would only tackle by automobile.
Pace and CTA buses are equipped with bike racks and allow bikes
24-7. CTA trains permit bicycles during non-rush hours on weekdays
and all times on weekends.
CTA and Pace take the uncertainty out of bicycling long distances,
especially in the City where buses run all night. You know you'll
never be marooned.
Metra allows bicycles
to board at no extra charge during off-peak weekday hours and weekends.
Only reverse commuters are allowed to bring bikes on board during
rush hours. Bicycles are not allowed during the following Grant
Park events: Taste of Chicago (June 29 to July 8); Independence
Eve Fireworks (July 3); Venetian Night (July 28); Air & Water
Show (Aug. 18 and 19); Jazz Fest (Aug. 30 to Sept. 2).
Metra allows three bicycles in the priority seating area of each
accessible diesel rail car and two in each electric railcar.
Bike
access on Metra is the result of years of advocacy and the efforts
of hundreds of bicyclists who contacted Metra to urge it adopt a
permanent program.
But, there is still work to be done. A 20-year strategic plan adopted
by the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation envisions “100 percent
of the RTA system – including all transit vehicles and stations
– being redesigned to fully accommodate bicycles.” Within
five years, we hope to have Metra remove 75 percent of its blackout
dates and provide bike parking at all of its stations.
Learn how you can help. Contact Randy Warren, program specialist
for the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, at (312) 427-3325, ext.
221.
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