Integration of Bicycles: 2005 TRB report

Integration of Bicycles and Transit: A Synthesis of Transit Practice
2005, TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH BOARD

During the past decade, there has been significant growth in bicycle and transit integration.
Transit agencies are increasingly mounting bicycle racks on buses, allowing bicycles to be
brought on board trains, installing bicycle racks and lockers at transit stations, providing
staffed bicycle parking facilities (also referred to as bike stations) at major transit hubs, and
offering other bicycle services. Forty-five (80%) of the 56 North American transit agencies
that responded to a survey for this report started at least one of their bicycle services after
1994, when TCRP Synthesis of Transit Practice 4: Integration of Bicycles and Transit was
published.

The purpose of this report is to share information about how bicycles are integrated with
public transportation by many different types of transit agencies in the United States and
Canada. The information in this synthesis can be used to improve existing bicycle services
and to assist other communities with developing new bicycle and transit services. This report
is an update of TCRP Synthesis of Transit Practice 4.

There are many reasons for the growth in bicycle and transit integration. Transit agencies
have found that bicycle services can provide the following benefits:
• Bicycling extends the catchment area for transit services and provides greater mobility
to customers at the beginning and end of their transit trips.
• Bicycle-on-transit services provide bicyclists with the option to take transit to avoid riding
after dark, up hills, in poor weather, or in areas that do not provide comfortable bicycle
access (e.g., bridges, tunnels, construction areas, and narrow roads with high traffic
volumes). Bicycle-on-transit is also an option for bicyclists who have mechanical problems
or need to get home in an emergency.
• Bicycle and transit integration is also thought to decrease automobile traffic congestion,
help reduce air pollution (by reducing motor vehicle trips), and improve the public
image of transit.

All of these benefits help communities reduce their reliance on single-occupant vehicle travel
and make their transportation systems work more efficiently.

The information provided by transit agencies and other background investigations for this
study revealed several key findings about bicycle and transit integration. The main findings
of this study are summarized here.

There has been significant growth in bicycle and transit integration in North America over
the past decade. In the early 1990s, bicycle and transit integration at many agencies included
only bike parking; a few were starting to establish bicycle-on-bus programs and experimenting
with bicycle-on-rail accommodation. Bicycle services are now offered by agencies
of all sizes in many different parts of the United States and Canada. Bicycle on bus, in particular,
has become quite common owing to increases in federal funding sources, transit agencies
replacing old buses with newer models, and private industry developing bicycle rack
designs to overcome operational limitations.

Click here to view a PDF version of this report.