Port Authority Transit buses have had a face lift. On Sept. 23, PAT announced that its entire fleet of buses had been outfitted with mounted bike racks. The announcement marked the culmination of a 10-year effort that began with a nudge from Sustainable Pittsburgh and was carried through with Bike Pittsburgh support.
"Our membership made it known that it was a high priority thing that we should work on, so we started talking to the Port Authority on how we can make this happen," said Eric Boerer, advocacy director for Bike Pittsburgh.
Boerer said the installation of the bike racks on buses should open up a wide variety of recreational opportunities for cyclists. For example, city dwelling mountain bikers will now have easier access to urban trails such as those at Frick Park, which Boerer said are considered the best mountain biking trails available inside the city limits.
"You can ride to the trail, but a lot of times mountain bikes aren't very suited for riding on the streets," said Boerer. "Being able to jump on a bus and take your bike to the trail is pretty huge."
In addition, Boerer said city cyclists can now easily head to the suburbs and ride beautiful country trails or experience portions of the Montour Trail that may not have been easily accessible before. The buses can also transport those looking to pedal the Great Allegheny Passage to trailheads in McKeesport and Duquesne.
For suburban cyclists who may fear city meter readers or shy away from the high price of a parking garage, Boerer said the bike racks make it easy to access the city trails.
"We already know a lot of people are coming in on the weekends to ride the trails," he said. "Every bus goes to Downtown and the trail system starts there, so it makes sense."
Whether going into or out of the city to ride, Boerer said there's one thing that should make planning the trip a little easier.
"Now that we're at 100 percent [bus-mounted bike rack capacity], there's no question whether a bus will arrive without a rack," he said.
For more information and an instructional video on mounting a bike to the front of a bus, visit http://bike-pgh.org.
First Published: November 27, 2011, 5:00 a.m.
