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I have mixed feelings on this. It's convenient and helpful for bikers, sure, at the same time it's inconvenient for everyone else. I haven't seen, or used one of the racks however. I can imagine some dolt taking forever to figure it out, to the point where the driver has to come out and help, wasting time. Alright during lighter usage hours, but what about peak hours when everyone is in a hurry to get where they're going.

Thankfully I never need to take the bused routes.
 
egotrippin said:
I have mixed feelings on this. It's convenient and helpful for bikers, sure, at the same time it's inconvenient for everyone else. I haven't seen, or used one of the racks however. I can imagine some dolt taking forever to figure it out, to the point where the driver has to come out and help, wasting time. Alright during lighter usage hours, but what about peak hours when everyone is in a hurry to get where they're going.

Thankfully I never need to take the bused routes.
Click to expand...

It takes maybe 30 seconds to put the bike on the rack and secure it, and during the peak hours, the rider can do this while other people are boarding. There might be some delays, but I think this really improves access to transit. In my example, it is a 20 minute walk to the bus stop or a 20 minute drive to the train station - guess which one I picked. But with a 5 minute bike ride to the bus stop, I can't wait to leave my car in the driveway.
 
TTC Bus Bike Carriers?

During rush hour today I saw a nice, earnest 30-40 year-old woman, with a 10 year-old daughter at the corner of Bay & Queen. The woman was, for some reason, positioning her bike on the road directly in front of the TTC bus, which was full of communters, while the driver peered down at her.

She then opened up some sort of metal frame that appeared to be a bike carrier attached to the front of the bus. She didn't seem to know how to use it as she lifted her bike onto and off the carrier a few times. This went on for a couple of minutes while the driver peered down and the intersection lights went through their cycles. Her daughter looked on from the curb.

I walked on and then about a block away turned to see what was happening. Well, the driver had helpfully descended from the bus to stand beside the woman as she continued to try to get her bike loaded on this contraption. But the driver didn't lift a hand as far as i could see - union rules?

Anyway, this idea needs some work as the bus and its occupants were stalled for at least 5 minutes. And I felt embarasssed for the woman who was, after all, only trying to be an early-adopter.

Has anyone seen this device?
 
The videos online are are extremely helpful, frankly it is her fault for not knowing how to use it ... I'm guessing here that she never saw those videos online. Moreover, you might be better of trying it once or twice on the weekend before trying to do it during rush hour your first time.

Regarding the driver ... I doubt he could help even if he wanted to. It's not so much the Union but if the driver were to help I'm sure there would be some legal implications if anything were to go wrong that may result in a lawsuit against the TTC. The website clearly states you are responsible for securing the bike yourself.
 
Seen 'em, used 'em (frequently) and wrote about 'em (on Metronauts.ca)

The rules say that you have to load your bike, probably for liability purposes. As long as you have the strength to lift your own bicycle then it should take 15 seconds or less to load. Some transit agencies have a thirty second rule, but clearly a grace period is the compassionate thing to do.

I don't think the concept needs work. It works fine in my opinion. What can be improved is the existing instructional material could be made more easily available.
 
It can be hard to figure things out with 50 sets of eyes on you. TTC should take these racks and bolt them to the exterior walls of some TTC stations around the city so riders can drop by to figure them out under less stressful situations - a trial run as it were.
 
buildup said:
It can be hard to figure things out with 50 sets of eyes on you. TTC should take these racks and bolt them to the exterior walls of some TTC stations around the city so riders can drop by to figure them out under less stressful situations - a trial run as it were.
Click to expand...

That's a really great idea -- would you consider writing a letter to the TTC suggesting it?
 
I was biking around Toronto for Doors Open. On the way home from Doors Open I took the Brimley bus, one of the new low-floor hybrids. I was about to load my bike onto the rack when the driver waved me onto the bus.

If you've been keeping score, this is the third time that a bus driver has stopped me from using the rack (all in non-rush hour situations). I think to drivers (especially during off-peak hours with low-floor buses) carrying the bike onto the bus saves more time than loading/unloading the bike from the rack. However to the biker and other passengers this is quite an inconvenience. The biker is responsible for holding onto the bike, which is somewhat difficult if the driver accelerates and brakes hard. The bike also blocks up the aisle and some seats. I don't know if bus drivers realize this or not.
 
You can lock it up using the wheelchair locking device, but I have been scolded in the past for doing this.
 
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