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

[Marq Maru]

That's great, i guess.  Why not just ride the bike?

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Lisa Williams" <lisa at cadence90.com>
To: "Boston Critical Mass" <list at bostoncriticalmass.org>
Cc: <bikexec at massbike.org>
Sent: Thursday, September 22, 2005 4:45 PM
Subject: Re: [*BCM*] MassBike Victory: MBTA Buses to Get Bike Racks


> 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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>>Boston Critical Mass mailing list
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>>http://bostoncriticalmass.org/list
>>
>
> -- 
> Lisa Williams
> lisa at cadence90.com
> Lisa's weblog: http://www.cadence90.com/wp/
>
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