Tips for bringing bikes on Metro

[ShawnoftheDread]

It’s interesting that your link about a much better public transit/bike experience is also written as a complaint.

[jwfisher3]

Just a heads-up to those thinking about bringing bikes on Metro this week – this is one of those periods Metro alludes to in their policy that invokes the right to deny access to cyclists during peak ridership periods at Metro employees discretion, meaning that if trains are crowded due to all the tourists and cherry blossom gawkers, you can be told to exit the system, or denied entry.

[PotomacCyclist]

You can sign up for Metro Alerts by email. You select which lines you want to monitor. Then when there are service outages, delays or other problems on that line or lines, you will receive an email alert. I’m not sure if this tells you which elevators or escalators are out of service though. Check the WMATA website for more info.

I agree that this time of year is even trickier on Metro because of the cherry blossom festival crowds, throughout the day. And same with regular rush hour periods throughout the year.

I usually don’t bring my bike on Metro, except a couple times after local races. For those triathlons, I’m carrying a lot of extra gear (frame pump, swim and run gear, transition bag) that I’m worried about putting all that extra weight on my bike tires. Plus it’s very difficult to ride with a backpack while wearing an aero helmet. You can’t lift your head up normally. In those cases, I’ll find the nearest Metro station and ride that home. Since this is always on a weekend, I’ve never had a problem. I can find empty seats. I sit down and rest the bike against the wall and hold it there.

If your total trip won’t be too long, I would just skip the Metro and bike the entire way. If you have a longer trip, you could try Capital Bikeshare as part of your trip (assuming this would work in your situation). Then you wouldn’t have to worry about bringing a bike on Metro. If you have a smartphone, install the free Spotcycle app. This provides near-real time updates on the numbers of bikes and empty docks at each CaBi station.

[rcannon100]

Thanks jwfisher3! That is a very useful reminder.

ColumbiaHeights, I feel your pain. But at the end of the day, I am also really grateful that we can bring bikes onboard. It is better than it use to be back in the day – and while it may not be Portland – it is also not other places that just flat out dont allow it (I’m talking to you Yamtrak! and local commuter trains!) Metro is my backup system – and while I dont always ride public transportation, when I do, I ride the subway.

Okay, so here are my two thoughts.

First, check the weekend track closures. I generally would like to use the subway to do things like get to volunteer events or sports events…. taking the subway to the end of the line and then starting from there. But…. surprise surprise…. the subway is closed 99.999% of the time on the weekend. Or at least that’s what it seems. The subway is closed so frequently on the weekends that I have given up on it as a means of transportation on the weekend. You’ll make plans and poof – no subway. So much for being car free.

Second, sounds like I position my bike like you do. I like the ends because there tends to be that little bit of extra room, and a bench. I will tuck the bike in there, clamp on the brakes, and hold the bike still for the ride. I dont let it touch anyone or anything. I keep a hand on it at all times. When bringing something big and clunky into a crowded transportation system, I view it as my responsibility to do it right.

Of course the looks you get from tourons are lots of fun.

[bobco85]

@ColumbiaHeights 48567 wrote:

Anyone have any advice for bringing bikes on metro?

I feel your pain about carrying bikes on Metro trains. It can be quite frustrating.

First off, here’s the official Metro policy for bikes on trains: http://wmata.com/getting_around/bike_ride/guidelines.cfm

As for carrying your bike through stations, you are not allowed to use the escalators/stairs unless the station manager allows it (usually due to an elevator being down). I didn’t know this for some time, but I guess I never got yelled at by a WMATA employee because it was never at a busy station on the weekends (East Falls Church or Van Dorn St).

Once you’re on the train, I think you’re supposed to keep your bike in the open area near the doors where there are no seats (people with wheelchairs and strollers do this, too). The poles make this awkward and annoying. Also, I did not find a specific source for this, but I am confident that you are not allowed to block an emergency door so I wouldn’t recommend having the bike in the aisle. Usually I find the best option is to get on the very first/last car, use one of the seats facing the open area near the doors, and hold/prop up the bike because I do not have a kickstand on mine.

Trains featuring hooks for hanging bikes? That’s just crazy (and makes me jealous we don’t have those)!

[creadinger]

@ColumbiaHeights 48567 wrote:

If the elevators are out of service, which is not uncommon, you’re forced to do an awkward balancing act on the escalators. If the escalators are also out of service – yes, this happened to me – then you’re forced to carry the bike up/down the escalators.

Be careful about the escalators. I’ve heard of metro station workers yelling at cyclists for taking their bikes on an escalator. I’ve only done it a couple of times on the short escalators when no one else was around, but I could easily imagine other passengers would get highly annoyed if you got any road grit/chain grease on them.

Also, worthwhile mentioning – all the elevators smell like old pee, probably because the floors are covered in it.

[Terpfan]

Every time I take my bike on Metro, I regret it. I can literally think of one time I didn’t mind and it was early fall with a torrential downpour outside. Otherwise, I’ve gotten off trains because of the great weekend work (that never ends) and just ridden the majority. Even with time crunchs, I find it’s roughly the same. But advice wise–check your station’s elevator point. I forget the one station, but elevator will take you up to Mezz level and then there is no elevator to get outside. Me, I challenge the wrath of Metro and hold the bike on escalator in those situations, but I would be wise to check where the elevator is beforehand. You’re not allowed to board with the bike (except maybe folding) in the middle of train cars. In the ends I try to position it for the easiest way out and against the wall. And count on some idiot with 10 bags or a quadruple stroller running into it and miracously complaining.

[consularrider]

I do rides with a Meetup group that uses Metro stations as primary starting points (normally Shady Grove, New Carrolltown, Eastern Market, or Dunn Loring). During the summer these rides start fairly early, and there is usually only one train option that can possibly get you there on time. With all the weekend track work and station closings over the past two years, Metro has become too unreliable, so I started riding to the starts. Now I’m hooked and am happy I can turn 40 mile rides into metric or imperial centuries!

My other gripe with taking my bike on Metro was that when you have to wait for everyone else to get off, you stand the chance of having the doors close on you if you’re not quick enough (happened to me at EFC at lunch time. Bike was stuck in the door until it opened at WFC! 😡

[acc]

Not by plan, but I’ve taken several bikes on Metro this winter. I gave up on elevators late one Saturday night downtown by myself in the cold when I couldn’t find the Metro Center station elevator. After that, I’ve just carried them on the escalators. Station managers have carried my bike down for me once or twice.

Lighter bikes are easier and a messenger bag helps free up your hands.

I push my bike backwards as far as it will go at the end of a car and either stand with it or hook my arm through the frame if I have a seat.

From the end of the Orange Line, West Falls Church is the easiest to manage with a bike because parking is so close to the station entrance. It’s much easier than either Dunn Loring or Vienna.

[dasgeh]

Lots of great advice. I’ll just add that the first car of almost every Metro train I’ve ever been on is the least crowded. So if I’m at all worried about crowding, I head to the front of the platform.

And while we’re griping about the elevator situation, just think about what it’s like for people who _have_ to use the elevators (wheelchairs, strollers). Seriously, Metro, you can do better.

[ColumbiaHeights]

@dasgeh 48629 wrote:

Lots of great advice. I’ll just add that the first car of almost every Metro train I’ve ever been on is the least crowded. So if I’m at all worried about crowding, I head to the front of the platform.

And while we’re griping about the elevator situation, just think about what it’s like for people who _have_ to use the elevators (wheelchairs, strollers). Seriously, Metro, you can do better.

I agree that I’m being a little self-centered when there are people who are wheelchair bound who TRULY rely on the elevators. What I don’t understand is, why are the elevators and escalators out of service so darn frequently? The location of the elevators is also marked very poorly. Looking for the Chinatown/Gallery place elevator at street level is like looking for a needle in a haystack. I asked a security guard if he knew where the metro elevator was and he replied that there “was no elevator.” It turned out that there was an elevator (next to the dunkin donuts), but it was hardly marked. You could easily walk past it a hundred times and not realize it was there.

Not to get too off topic, but does anyone know the underlying reason why the trains run so deep underground? I timed the escalator ride at Dupont Circle. It took almost exactly two minutes. NYC subways are much, much closer to ground elevation.

[dasgeh]

I didn’t mean to imply anyone was being insensitive. I’ve just been on Metro recently with a BIG stroller (oh, having 2 kids) and have had a tiny glimpse into how hard things must be for those in a wheel chair.

@ColumbiaHeights 48654 wrote:

Not to get too off topic, but does anyone know the underlying reason why the trains run so deep underground? I timed the escalator ride at Dupont Circle. It took almost exactly two minutes. NYC subways are much, much closer to ground elevation.

I have heard that the depth is for security reasons (we could survive a HUGE BOMB down there) and that the depth is due to topography — gotta get under a deep river, and deal with hills, etc. I tend to believe the latter, but don’t have either on good authority.

[rcannon100]

@ColumbiaHeights 48654 wrote:

Not to get too off topic, but does anyone know the underlying reason why the trains run so deep underground? I timed the escalator ride at Dupont Circle. It took almost exactly two minutes. NYC subways are much, much closer to ground elevation.

No, therefore let me answer anyway.

First off Dupont Circle has many layers (like an ogre). There is the surface layer where the cars are. There is the car tunnel. Under that there is the trolley tunnel and station -> turned defunct food eatery -> turned bike parking (didnt happen) -> turned gay bars (didnt happen). Under that is the subway. The subway is also setting up at that point to go under Rock Creek Park.

Other people have other explanations

WAPO Metro’s current escalator problems began 30 years ago, when engineers decided to dig subway tunnels deep underground, avoiding mushy, unstable soil closer to the surface. Long, moving stairways would link the deep stations with the street.

The engineers’ motto was “Deeper Is Cheaper.” Not only would it have been more expensive to dig tunnels through the shifting rubble, but constructing stations in it would have been more difficult.

And so designers put Metro stations such as Rosslyn and Dupont Circle as deep underground as a skyscraper is high, and put their faith in the most massive escalator system of any subway in the world

[mstone]

@ColumbiaHeights 48654 wrote:

Not to get too off topic, but does anyone know the underlying reason why the trains run so deep underground? I timed the escalator ride at Dupont Circle. It took almost exactly two minutes. NYC subways are much, much closer to ground elevation.

Subway depth is determined by geology, topology, and surface construction.

Most of the worlds oldest lines are cut-and-cover–dig a trench in the middle of a street, dump in some track, and rebury it. The core of the DC metro uses this technique, as do NYC, London, etc. That method generally results in shallow stations and is relatively cheap, but depends on surface right of way and works best in flat areas. In established systems the low-hanging fruit is generally gone, and newer expansions go deep to avoid impacting existing infrastructure. The new NYC line is running 85-90 feet, and the London crossrail is running around 130.

Trains generally have a relatively low maximum grade, so they can’t easily run up and down hills. So as the surface topology gets steep, the tunnels (which stay straight) get deeper. The deepest tunnels in NYC and London are both under hills. Dupont is deep in part because of the need to dive under rock creek, Rosslyn because of the potomac.

Tunneling is basically infeasible in loose soil, and is expensive in rock, so subways will generally go as deep as they need to go to reach solid earth, but will try to minimize digging through rock. NYC has relatively shallow bedrock, London is on clay and the work goes about 3x as fast there even though they’re running much deeper. Forest Glen was run deep largely due to soil conditions, as I understand it.

[Author]

Posts