Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Bikes on Buses during National Bike Month!

Being National Bike Month, we're taking a look at the relationship between personal (bikes) and public transportation.

Once seen as a child's toy, bikes have become a serious tool for individuals looking to speed up their commute.

Bikes on Buses saves time, money and the environment!
Committed to getting our riders to their destination as quickly and efficiently as possible, HART has added racks to all buses, rubber-wheeled trolleys and most recently HARTFlex vans. Folding bikes - in proper carrying bags - were allowed on board beginning in November 2011.

Bike riders might not view a 30 mile round trip bike ride to downtown as an attractive commute. However,  pair a quick 1-2 mile bike ride with a HART route to pick up the majority of the miles and you have some serious peddle power.

Cycling HART riders find that bikes not only speed up their commutes, but also provide them more exercise, ground coverage, and route options.

For example, you might live within walking distance of a route 34 stop, but possible transfers don't work well with your schedule. Instead, you choose to bike to the route 1 stop where you can catch a straight shot to Marion Transit Center and save 10 minutes. Couple those time savings with the low-cost of a HART 1-day pass ($3.75) or 31-day pass ($60, $1.95 a day) and you've saved time, money and the environment!

Don't take our word for it though. Over 20,000 boardings were part of the Bikes on Buses program last month.

We see bikes as a supplement to our service as we celebrate a nearly 20-year relationship with the bicycle!

Click here to learn more about the HART Bikes on Buses program including how to secure your bike on the bus bike rack.  We also have a Bikes on Buses how-to video on our YouTube page here.

Ride on!

Just call us the Nickelback of commuting... better yet, don't.
P.S.

Falling under the alternative commutes umbrella, bicycling and public transportation, we hope to one day become as "alternative" as Nickelback.

Not sure how you can be "alternative" when you've sold over 50 million records worldwide? Exactly our point.

However, that's for another day, another post.

2 comments:

  1. Sad that in the three years of riding HARTline, I have had numerous occasions that a bike rack is full when it arrives. And the media has reported in recent months how much ridership has increased. You have buses on certain routes near capacity. So wouldn't it stand the chance that more patrons would have bikes as well.nevertheless, I have heard reasons from drivers. Some say some can't make certain corners with a three-bike rack attached. Others have said that maintenence is too lazy to honor the request. I beg the cheerful writer of this and other articles to ride for a month from an out of the way location, such as Harney Rd. and then tell me what HART is doing to be so wonderful for their customers. And I also was nearly hit by a HART driver on Himes because he wouldn't follow the 3 foot rule we have in this county. Did I ever get an apology once I sent a message on the complaint blog? Now rates are going to increase in November? What gives??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We're sorry about your mixed experience with our service. Those that told you about the difficulty in making turns with the 3-bike rack are correct. During a trial run on the 40" buses we ran into some problems maneuvering with the three bike rack.

      Regarding your run in with one of our operators, please don't hesitate to message us on our social media outlets ASAP regarding the incident - we will make sure someone in our Customer Service department contacts you regarding the incident.

      Have a great weekend!

      Delete

Comments to this blog are moderated by HART staff. Constructive comments are welcome; any obscene, threatening, or otherwise inappropriate comments will be deleted before posting. Questions about specific service ("is my bus on time?") cannot be answered here, and should be directed to the HARTinfo Line at (813) 254-HART (4278). General questions may be addressed in future posts.