More taking bike to bus

Tidewater Regional Transit (TRT) in Norfolk, VA also equips its buses with
bicycle racks.

A couple of weeks ago I had a blowout in my rear tire. Apparently my spare
was too old, because when I installed it and inflated it, it split about
three inches along a seam. Although it was not fun walking two miles in
cycling shoes to the closest bus stop, I was able to transport myself and
the bicycle by bus to within a few blocks of home.

"Garrison Hilliard" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

More taking bike to bus
TANK's racks deemed success

By Joshua Rey
Post staff reporter

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Jeff Salisbury, 41, doesn't put his bike away often.

On a recent weekend, the Newport, Ky., native and other members of the
Cincinnati Cycle Club completed a 100-mile ride from Ludlow through Boone
County
and back. Since Salisbury and his wife, Christine Plepys, share a car, he
often
rides his bike to work downtown.

Now, he can take the bus - and keep his bike at hand.

In a time of $3 gallons of gas and increasing levels of air pollution,
hundreds
of Northern Kentucky citizens are turning to an unlikely combination for
their
transportation needs: buses and bikes. The Transit Authority of Northern
Kentucky launched its "Bike & Ride" program last June and has racked up
supporters ever since.

"The racks give you more freedom in using the TANK system because you can
take
advantage of many routes without having to worry about making
connections," said
Salisbury, who recently parked his bike on the front bumper of a bus bound
for
Crestview Hills, before riding his two-wheeler back home to Newport.

In a matter of seconds, two wheels become six when bus riders load their
bikes
onto racks mounted on the front of TANK buses.

Racks are available on a first-come, first-serve basis and can hold up to
two
bikes at a time. Bicyclists are not required to pay anything but the
standard
$1.25 fare.

According to TANK statistics, more than 7,000 bicycles were placed on the
racks
of Northern Kentucky's 100 buses in the first 12 months of the Bike & Ride
campaign.

The program debuted with 560 bikes stowed in June 2006 and peaked last
month
with 943, much to the surprise of avid bicyclist David Witt.

"When it first came out, I thought, 'Who's going to use these other than
me?'
But it's being used much more than I expected," said Witt, a 45-year-old
from
Fort Wright.

Like Salisbury, Witt rides his bike across the Kentucky/Ohio border to
work. He
enjoys the exercise, but has endured his final thunderstorms and cold
fronts.
When temperatures dipped below 25 degrees last winter, Witt sought cover
in
Northern Kentucky's buses.

"They're nice from my point of view because they extend my riding season,"
said
Witt, who splits time between Ross and Bridgeport bicycles. "I don't have
to
gamble with the rain."

The TANK Bank & Ride program isn't unprecedented in the area. Bike racks
were
added to Cincinnati's 390 Metro buses in 2000. Statistics for Metro's
program
haven't been kept since its inaugural year, but Metro spokeswoman Sallie
Hilvers
says that there's been a noticeable increase in bikes stowed this spring,
especially children's and sports bikes.

With two programs in two states, bicyclists on the border no longer have
to
worry about competing with downtown traffic. TANK routes extend as far
north as
the Metro hub at Government Square in Cincinnati.

Publication date: 06-18-2007
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070618/NEWS01/706180372