Bikes And trains won’t mix for passengers

Re: Transit commission wants to allow bikes on trains during all service hours, Feb. 21. The decision by the Transit Commission to allow bikes on the LRT trains is a mistake. I am not aware of any transit system that allows bikes on subway, LRT or streetcars anywhere else. Rapid transit systems are designed to move a lot of people quickly; therefore stops should be as short as possible. Even European cities, which are a lot more bike-friendly than North America, do not allow bikes on their systems.

I have ridden the same model of Alstom trains in France for years and cannot see how allowing bikes can possibly work. In Nice, tourists with suitcases have a hard time getting on and off the trains and the locals let them know in no uncertain terms of their displeasure.

I can foresee situations where people will be unable to get off at their stop because they realize too late that a bike is blocking their way; then the conflicts and arguments will start. Strollers are more manoeuvrable than bikes in a confined space. They can be rolled backwards more easily than a bike.

I fully agree with the chairman of the Commission that it will be next to impossible to change this short-sighted decision after the evidence comes in that it was a mistake, because the biking community will mobilize and scream discrimination.

Hani Mokhtar, Ottawa