Submitted by TheTechOcogs t3_yibsgw in massachusetts
For people who are trying to take the T into Boston from Worcester, it sucks that I can’t bring my bike during rush hour.
It takes me 40 mins to walk to the train station and only about 10 min to bike. I want to save on my carbon footprint by not relying on my car, but the limitations make it nearly impossible. I’m sure i’m not the only one with this issue.
It wouldn’t even need to be that big, just a box on wheels would be enough.
The problem with the bike barn at South Station is anyone with access can take any bike. Security is non-existent.
Absolutely it's a shit solution but the commuter rail is pretty unwilling to make even the slightest improvements so... We just gotta work around it :/
I've been taking it on and off since 2013, it's ok but the legislature will never put in the money it needs to be better.
The overwhelming majority of the MA communities get no benefit from the MBCR or T. Why would they put their constituent's money into it?
Do you genuinely think that? How many workers does the CR move daily? What are the economic benefits generated by the commuter rail and how many businesses would be in another state if we didn't have it?
What is the list of communities that get benefits? Those that have a station? Those that have a station with 5 miles? 10 miles? How many people live in those communities?
Once you get out toward Framingham you have a ton of towns and smaller places where people aren't using it to go to the east.
"Greater economic benefit" is hard to sell to places like Greenfield, North Adams, and Northbridge where there are other needs closer to the ground.
People overall seem to dislike seeing tax money spent on things that don't directly benefit them.
> >People overall seem to dislike seeing tax money spent on things that don't directly benefit them.
People are bad at realizing they live in a society. The fact is that if we didn't have things like CR then Massachusetts would have a much smaller tax base and people in towns like North Adams and Greenfield would not have the same access to state grants and funding for things that directly benefit them. Just because they don't realize it doesn't make it untrue.
People in North Adams would rather drive on dirt paths 😂
>People are bad at realizing they live in a society.
No disagreement there, but that's the reality.
They should expand it to Springfield then, Worcester has a huge train station that has been promising to expand to.
Seriously?
Boston is the economic engine for the state. If you live in the Brookfields or Great Barrington, or if you have never driven farther east than Marlborough, you have still benefitted from Boston’s economy. It stands to reason that reliable transportation for Boston’s workforce is beneficial for every single resident of Massachusetts.
I'm merely explaining what I think the thought process is, not defending it.
I'd be willing to bet that the population of communities with a T stop is a strong plurality if not a majority of the Commonwealth.
Which doesn't matter in the state senate where it's not done by population.
Why would you say it’s not done by population? Quoting from Amendment CI of the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts:
> The Senate shall consist of forty members. The General Court shall, at its first regular session after the year in which said census is taken, divide the Commonwealth into forty districts of contiguous territory, each district to contain, as nearly as may be, an equal number of inhabitants according to said census
And even a casual glance over the state senate district lines would confirm this to be the case.
I did this for a year and would not recommend. I had an older MTB and it got completely ruined, just dirt/rust all over it as it's basically outside near diesel trains/traffic etc. Other people I knew who stored nicer bikes got parts stolen.
Best option would be some kind of dorky folding bike.
Build a bike locker near the station?
You're supposed to clean and maintain your bike, so dirt/rust is probably on you. Oil stuff up and it'll be more or less fine.
Haven't used the bike rack there but can't you lock up your bike?
Use a crappy commuter bike, U lock, and chain. Chances of your bike getting stolen are pretty low unless you're leaving it overnight or something.
I saw someone using an angle grinder on a bike in front of a police station. Nobody gives a shit about bike theft.
> I saw someone using an angle grinder on a bike in front of a police station.
Did you talk to that person? How do you know it wasn't their bike and they lost their keys?
Anyway, I don't think a bike thief would choose a locked up bike inside a bike shed that requires a registered charlie card to enter and likely has video surveillance as the one to steal.
> Nobody gives a shit about bike theft.
That's not far from true, except for the bike owners :-P.
I think youre right, if you have a beater there is very little chance someone is going to go through the trouble at a place like that. Way more opportunities for expensive bikes at softer targets.
Sure, and they guy breaking the car window may just want to get his wife’s purse off the front seat and grab all the change out of his own cup holder. But statistically speaking these people doing drastic crime-like things are, more often than not, not doing them for legitimate reasons.
But hey, Boston is a very special city. And I say this as a native masshole. Maybe that’s just how Bostonians do things differently. Who am I to judge from my lofty Berkshire perch?
I've never had a problem with mine. Use a good U lock, or two, and you'll be fine. Theft isn't that common and it's all either $10k bikes or ones with a cheap cable lock.
Are there any better options for parking the bike at or around Worcester's commuter rail station?
Might as well just give the bike to a theif.
I can do that, but then when I get off the train I have another 20 min walk.
I don’t mind that 20 min walk but it often makes me late to work. Which is ok because my boss is chill, but it’s annoying, and i’m sure i’m not the only one with this issue.
You can take a folding bike on rush hour trains. There used to be several regulars on the Worcester line who used them.
You’re not, and the problem is it discourages people from moving to Worcester. I love Worcester, it’s one of the last affordable places around, with some gemlike neighborhoods, and commuter rail to Boston. If they ever figured out how to make the railway accessible to more commuters, you would suddenly have a lot of affordable housing more accessible to Boston as a whole.
Or just figured out transportation in general. There's a lot of places, especially around downtown, where parking is a nightmare. And only getting worse when they build new complexes without adequate parking. The busses are pretty bad too, the streets aren't really pedestrian or bike friendly, so there's absolutely no good way for residents to get around.
The housing will become less affordable unless more density is built. Worcester is already on an upswing (born there and most of my family is there) and more commuter rail access north and west and more frequent trains would really open up Worcester for families as another option, but dense housing would have to follow for it to remain an option. A lot of the quieter neighborhoods (Tatnuck, Forest Grove, etc.) would probably become less quiet. I think that’s fine, but selling residents on that will be hard.
You need a folding bike.
Underrated answer!
Direct from the MBTA website:
> Folding bikes are allowed on all services at all times if they’re completely folded.
Or one of those teeny tiny bikes from the circus.
My husband used a folding scooter for couple years going into Boston by commuter rail, worked out pretty well.
There are bike cars in the commuter rail fleet, they're just not used very frequently.
My experience - not during peak commuting hours. Which is most likely the time OP wants to commute.
I've seen them on the NBPT/Rockport line at rush hour times, but it's true that they aren't used often.
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Why aren’t they used?
The bike cars take out about 1/3 of the seats on the train car. And technically the policy is no bikes on rush hour trains. I see one periodically on the Fitchburg line, but it's a terrible car and the seats are uncomfortable and cramped.
Visited a different city recently - they had a vertical bike rack in their trains an buses that held the bike up to minimize the space they might take up and prevent them from moving around
in the space of maybe 1 - 1.5 seats?
We should have the same
Agree
Do the rules prohibit unicycles, rollerblades, longboards, or e-scooters? You might have to get creative with your “last mile” options.
Recommending electric skateboards. From a standpoint of cost efficiency and not looking like a dweeb, they come out way ahead of scooters.
I thought fold up bikes were allowed during rush hour? They are on the subway.
Fold up bikes are allowed.
Is there a garage with indoor bike cages nearby? You could get a second city bike…
Bikes are allowed off peak hours. The mbta train schedules online have icons indicating which trains allow bikes. But that may not accomodate your work schedule. Folding bikes (used to) be allowed at all times, Im not sure if that's still the policy. It's not as efficient as a full size bike, and may not be an option at all if you're over 6' tall, but it's better than walking.
I would get a folding bike and just put it in the seat with me, tbh.
Lets get a commuter rail that works first.
Roller blades are a decent alternative if you can
Many of the commuter lines *do* have bike racks on their larger cars. But they don't always allow people to take bikes on, and for some reason there are tracks that during the day on weekdays allow you to take a bike into the city but won't let your bike on the train out of the city until 8:00 PM.
You can see which lines allow bikes and when on their online schedule, the runs that allow bikes have a little bike picture on them.
Alternatively just get a foldable bike or scooter, the smaller models of which are allowed on the commuter rail all the time.
Folding bike like Brompton counts as luggage on the commuter rail and T, even during peak hours.
Folding bike is allowed on.
Get a folding bike, or get a cheap bike you can lock up at your home station then use bluebikes when you get into the city.
They could just use on of the many cars they refuse to open and yet drag around track all day.
No we don't. We need transportation that works first.
The thing is, the commuter rail HAS those "big boxes on wheels". They are the SKI cars and they go out to Wachusett in the winter. I just saw one on the Haverhill line.
So they have the equipment, they just need to have the will and get organized
They should just put racks on the outside of train cars..... put it on ...lock it with a cell phone app....unlock it when you get to your destination... 5-10 seconds extra....Buses do it...trains can too...
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Just drive. Your carbon footprint is negligible.
I tend to agree, but the health benefits of bicycling are not
https://www.mass.gov/info-details/ghg-emissions-and-mitigation-policies#introduction-
65% of Massachusetts’s emissions is cars and trucks.
“Unlike many states and nations, emissions in Massachusetts do not primarily come from large industrial or agricultural operations. Over 65% of Massachusetts’ emissions come from our cars, trucks, homes, and offices; another 20% comes from the power plants that provide electricity for our lights, computers, and appliances.”
No shit, I was talking about him. One person.
You just discovered the tragedy of the commons, congratulations.
Maybe we shouldn't do selfish things because "it won't matter if only one person does it."
Life is too short to worry about it, and in his case, it’s making him late to work. Drive the car.
Expecting taxpayers to fund a bike car on a rail line that functions poorly (at best) because you choose not to drive, is selfish.
fremenator t1_iuhufm7 wrote
Couldn't you leave the bike at the commuter rail station? It does suck but those trains are so full I get why they don't allow them.