Tuesday, September 11, 2012

bikers over riders

alright, bikers, it's gettin harder and harder for us pedestrian passengers of public transit to take your presence kindly.  you take up at least three bodies' worth of standing room when you don't act stupid.  this is something metro, in their infinite wisdom, has decided to formalize.

seats removed for bikes, strollers and large luggage
that's right.  two rows of seats and a handicapped seat have been removed from a whole lotta trains because there are so many more of you bikers than when gas was only $3.50/gal.  on some trains, it's a full three rows, six seats.  congratulations for makin more of the rest of us tired riders stand in your honor.  half the time, you bikers even rub salt in the wound, taking a seat while leaving your bike to fall over on someone.

someone sitting across the doorway from his bike
but, no, that's enough, is it?  instead of making use of the sanctioned spaces, you gotta crowd the doorways of the trains makin it a serious project for the rest of us to get on or off.  and for your inconsideration, what penance do you pay?  why, yall get off first, to, y'know, make room.

two bikes in the doorway
and if that ain't enough, there's been a serious spike in the number of yall crowdin your way onto an already crowded train and only riding a stop or two.  why you wasting time?  it's hard to find two, even three, consecutive train stations in the county far enough apart that you can't ride faster than it is to wait for the train.

so, enough of my ranting, what's to be done about this?

the best i can come up with is hopin this bike share thing works out and expands dramatically.  maybe if there are bikes everywhere, no one'll feel the need to bring em on the train.  the logistics of this are questionable, but it's one tiny glimmer of hope since it's become clear relying on bikers' general considerate nature is failing.

now, if bike sharing don't work and the legions of bikers continue to have enough bad apples causing me to voice my grief, i might just have to advocate for a bike ban.  no one wants that, do they?

1 comment:

  1. I think generally the problem isn't really the bikes but the idiot bicyclists who don't have any manners or know how to yield to other passengers. I don't know how it is in LA but up here in the sf bay we have some rather stupid bicyclists. A common problem is bikes in the first car train which is never allowed they also don't allow bikes at all during rush hour which is stupid because how does one have a sustainable transit system if they discriminate against bicyclists stranding them in sf for 2 and a half hours. It's a joke honestly and no one(including myself) fallows this rule. However I'm more curious than the typical bicyclist and always try and stay out of the way and always yield to passengers. There should be bike racks and bicyclists need to be better informed.

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