The unitrain and the bike
Posted on 08. Jul, 2009 by Tony Arranaga in News
Trains in Phoenix have been packed recently, mainly because the economy has forced our transit agency to reduce the two car trains to a unitrain.
Our light rail vehicles in Phoenix are different from those in other cities. Our trains are built with a section especially for passengers with bikes.
As you can imagine, the unitrain has forced many passengers without bikes into the bike area of the light rail vehicle, which is why I posed this question on my Facebook LightRailBlogger fan page:
The economy has forced METRO to use one car trains in Phoenix. The result is a packed train, with fellow passengers giving no courtesy to those with bikes. Have you noticed this? Does this bother you? Should METRO make a courtesy announcement for passengers riding light rail without a bike?
There’s some good conversation both on Twitter, where one follower told me about what they saw recently:
Witnessed an incident 1 day whr a passenger refused 2 move frm bike area to allow bike.
(same follower continued story in separate tweet)
Drvr was called 2 fix it driver came out (train was at a stop) and physically moved passenger. Vry entrtning!
On my Facebook fan page, another interesting conversation, where one person brings up the point that all passengers should be treated the same.
“You have no more of a right to bring your bike on than I do to enjoy the millimeter of space I have left. You have a bike, either lock it up or wait for another train (or just be rude and push into people) but don’t expect me to make room for your giant bike.”
Another response suggests people with bikes should speak up.
“I’m assuming that the issue you are talking about is when people sit where the bikes are hung, right? In that case, I think all we can do is ask people to move so we can hang our bikes.”
And yet another commenter suggests there should be a place on the outside of trains to hang bikes, like on our Valley Metro buses.
“I wish there was some other way to hang them on the outside or the front of the cars like the buses. I hate taking up too much room with the bike!”
What do you think? We still have at least two more months of the unitrain in Phoenix. Do passengers with bikes grin and bear it? Or should METRO make an announcement on the platforms for passengers sitting in the bike area of a car?
10 Responses to “The unitrain and the bike”
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TF
08. Jul, 2009
I say tell them to get out of the way or run over their toes
Michi-chan
08. Jul, 2009
Now, I may have the unpopular belief on this one, but if you think about it, you may understand where I am coming from.
Back prior to the light rail, the Red Line operated through a primary alignment of the route.
During the day on weekdays, the Red Line operated every 15 minutes between Tempe (Price Rd.) and Central Station and every 30 minutes north of Central Station and into Mesa.
On the weekends, the Red Line ran every 30 minutes between Price Rd. and Metrocenter (or for the sake of this conversation, Montebello).
Buses are equipped with a rack capable of carrying two bikes.
So, let’s just extreme this and limit the conversation to a trip between Downtown Phoenix and Downtown Tempe.
The Red Line ran 4 buses per hour on the weekdays and therefore had the capacity of carrying 8 bikes per hour. On the weekends, the line could carry 4 bikes per hour in each direction.
Now take into consideration…
The light rail operates every 10 minutes during the weekday base hours. Every 15 minutes on the weekends. Each railcar holds 4 bilkes
“Unitrains” are assigned to every other run so you have the potential of 9 rail cars per hour (2+1+2+1+2+1). That means the light rail can now carry 36 bikes per hour.
On weekends, that means 6 rail cars per hour (2+1+2+1) or 24 bikes.
So with that in mind:
On weekdays with alternating unitrain configurations:, light rail still carries 4-1/2 times as many bikes as it’s predecessor route that operated a year ago. Over 6 times the bikes on the weekends.
If you look at it that way, light rail is a substantial improvement.
I am not going to defend the “unitrain” configuration nor am I big fan of it. But I can understand why METRO is doing this arrangement, especially during the summer months.
Unfortunately, many transit riders here in Phoenix are those who have never ridden the bus or find it below them to ride a bus. If they rode the buses, they would be used to times when the route gets busy and you have to stand. Well, guess what, you have to stand on the train too. I have stood on trains in many cities.
Many mistake our light rail system for a high capacity commuter railroad like Southern California’s Metrolink or something like Amtrak.
The light rail is a replacement for the Red Line, one of the busiest routes in the system and when you take into consideration how much seated and crunch load capacity has been added as a result.of changing the route from 40 and 65 foot buses to trains (even single car trains), there has been a substantial improvement.
If you are expecting an Amtrak, Metrolink or even a United Airlines seating experience for the price of local bus fare, then you are mistaken. This is a local train, get used to the fact that you may occasionally have to stand or that you may have to wait for the next train to transport you and your bike. Just be glad that Phoenix has such liberal policies about bikes on trains.. many cities do not allow bikes at all during peak hours or require a permit.
This is a culture that is still very new to many but is not new to some of us. Some of us have been riding for decades. We’re used to it.
=m
(opinions are those of myself as a private citizen.)
Tony
09. Jul, 2009
See, I knew somebody would have a reasonable explanation!
Thanks for contributing to the conversation!!
Travis
09. Jul, 2009
Very well-stated Michi-chan.
I am, as well, a carless, metro- & bus-riding Central Phoenician. I have used the Metro since day one and now with the Unitrain configuration, it has gotten MUCH more crowded. I do however, see many bikers *not* using the bike racks, even when there may be ample room to do so. That puzzles me. They will park their bike near the fold-down seats, taking up needed space. I don’t know if they aren’t paying attention or maybe don’t realize the racks are even there, but it always seems to make me scratch my head.
Nonetheless, crowded trains make me happy. Happy to see that people are using the Metro and embracing something new and different in this city. (And I don’t mind standing one bit!)
Have a nice day, all!
Tony
09. Jul, 2009
Hey Travis! Thanks for your response! I too am happy to see packed trains…and I think I was the one you noticed not using the rack
For me, even when the bike racks are empty, it’s so crowded througout the rest of the train that I hate to ask people to move – just so I can squeeze by with my bike. And then lifting your bike in a crowded train is an entirely different issue. I’m bound to poke someone with a handle bar! I know, I know, there are bigger things in life to complain about, right?? Maybe I just need to speak up and say ‘excuse me’.
David SB
09. Jul, 2009
The real problem here is the very existence of the unitrain. When the unitrain was introduced at the beginning of the summer, we were told it would be a configuration used only at off-peak hours. Instead, we’re now seeing that roughly every third train is a unitrain, even during rush hours, First Fridays, and Diamondbacks games.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Crowded two-or-three-car trains represent a success in attracting passengers. Crowded one car trains represent a failure in customer service. METRO needs to rethink the unitrain mistake. I simply cannot believe that the electricity savings are enough to justify all the negatives of the unitrain.
Tony
10. Jul, 2009
Good point, David! Thanks for the comment!
Laura
09. Jul, 2009
My main concern with passengers not allowing bicyclists to hang their bikes up in the racks on the light rail is that the bikes block the doors and aisles restricting entering and exiting the trains. If there is an emergency and everyone needs to exit quickly, this could be a problem.
Tony
10. Jul, 2009
Thanks for commenting, Laura! You bring up a point that sits in the back of my mind as well.
Ellen
10. Jul, 2009
This is a great conversation! The comments by Michi-chan and Laura gave me a great idea for a compromise solution. I blogged about it – check it out!
http://phoenixcyclechic.blogspot.com/2009/07/lets-meet-in-middle.html