[*BCM*] MassBike Victory: MBTA Buses to Get Bike Racks

[Lisa Williams]

Oh. My. Gawd!

Dorie Clark wrote:

>
>   Boston, MA: The Massachusetts Bicycle Coalition (MassBike), the
>   statewide advocacy group dedicated to making Massachusetts a better
>   and safer place to bicycle, today lauded the MBTA and its new
>   General Manager, Daniel Grabauskas, for its plan to put more than
>   250 new bike racks on buses.
>
> “We are extremely pleased that General Manager Grabauskas and the MBTA
> have taken this important step toward making transit accessible for
> all users,” said MassBike Executive Director Dorie Clark. “Bicycle
> access on buses has long been a priority for MassBike and the tens of
> thousands of bicyclists in Greater Boston, and we look forward to
> working with the T to build on this success.”
>
> The rack-equipped buses, housed out of the MBTA’s Charlestown garage,
> will be serving dozens of routes in Cambridge, Somerville, Chelsea,
> Everett, Medford, Malden, Revere, Charlestown, Burlington, Lexington,
> Bedford, Belmont, Arlington, Waltham, Watertown, Allston, Brighton,
> Woburn, and Winchester.
>
> “Welcome, bike owners, to the MBTA,” said Grabauskas. “By giving
> people yet another reason to choose public transportation, we continue
> our efforts to attract more customers by making the system easier to
> use and a lot more convenient. This is what quality customer service
> is all about.”
>
> In all, the MBTA plans to purchase close to 300 bike racks (some will
> be kept as spares) at an estimated cost of $255,000. Federal grant
> monies distributed by the Boston MPO are funding the program.
> Installation is scheduled to begin in the spring of next year. MBTA
> Bus Operations staff will closely monitor the bike rack program, and
> then make recommendations on whether to expand the program to other
> bus garages and routes.
>
> MassBike has a history of working with the MBTA to improve conditions
> for bicyclists. In 1985, MassBike won the right for cyclists to bring
> their bikes on the T at certain times. In 2000, MassBike successfully
> encouraged the T to eliminate the “special pass” requirement in order
> to carry one’s bike on the subway, and in 2004, the MBTA worked with
> MassBike to dramatically expand cyclists’ hours of access on the
> subway. MassBike has more than 1600 dues-paying members across the
> Commonwealth, and represents the 750,000 Bay State residents who
> bicycle regularly.
>
> ####
>
> Dorie Clark
> Executive Director
> MassBike
> 617-542-2453
> bikexec at massbike.org
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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-- 
Lisa Williams
lisa at cadence90.com
Lisa's weblog: http://www.cadence90.com/wp/