TTC installs first 10 bike repair stations
Expect system-wide rollout if trial run weathers winter
The TTC is encouraging an easier ride for cyclists by installing bike repair stations at 10 subway stops this week, including some in the suburbs.
The stations, which include a post to hang the bike, a pump, wrench and Allen key, screwdrivers and a lever for tire repairs, cost about $1,300 each.
Councillor Josh Colle, chairman of the TTC board, says he wants to see how the stations weather the winter. But if they stand up, they could be installed across the whole system.
About 11 percent of transit riders on the TTC and GO are cyclists, but about 61per cent say they would consider biking to transit.
“We need to make it easier for people to make that choice,” Colle said at a Tuesday press conference at the Davisville Station.
The first 10 bike repair stations are at Bathurst, Davisville, Downsview, Dupont, Finch, Kipling, Keele, Kennedy, Pape and Spadina.
“With this being so cost-effective, I can see the (overall system) rollout happening much quicker than we anticipated,” he said.
The TTC is improving cycling conditions with bike channels on some staircases, bike racks on buses, more accessible fare gates and bike parking and lockers at subways.
Bikes are not allowed in streetcars and subways during rush hours, 6:30 to 10 a.m. and 3:30 to 7 p.m.
The repair stations are one more answer to the last-mile problem for transit riders who can’t bike the entire trip distance, said Cycle Toronto’s Jared Kolb.
More than half of Torontonians — about 1.5 million people — ride a bike at least once a year, he said.
“But for most people, they’re not going to jump on their bike or ride to work. There are too many barriers — (lack of ) bike lanes being one of them. But for a lot of people, it’s way too far for what most people are willing to do. So if we’re talking about Etobicoke, North York, Scarborough, you’ve got to link bicycling and transit together to really create the context that allows people to ride,” Kolb said.
For committed cyclists, a minor repair can be a big hassle. Sometimes that’s just because they don’t have the tools to fix a flat, Kolb said. Tools, he said, are one part of the equation — education that tells people how to repair their gear is another.