I've experienced it many times including having my father in law yelled at and being assaulted by a driver.
That said, I've had zero problems in the last year. It kinda felt like a memo went out.
2009-01-09 13:30:01
10
Port authority and the T
Hey whats up guys. First of I just want to say thanks for all the work you do.
I live in polish hill and commute to my job (west liberty cycles) in dormont.
Sometimes when I am feeling extra lazy i take the T. Recently i have had some trouble with operators being ignorant of the rules regarding bikes on the T and some of them have gone out of the way to make my morning commute unpleasant. I have registered complaints with the port authority but it seems like a fruitless exercise.
Does anyone else here take the T regularly? Any similar experiences?
I don't want this post to start off a pity party or b*tch fest, but perhaps if there are any other south hills commuters we could work together to find a constructive solution to this problem that is benifitcial to us and PAT.
thanks again
~Josie
2009-01-09 03:35:05
Hey Josie,
What time are you trying to take your bike on board? If it's not during peak hours (6-9am and 4-6:30pm) you shouldn't have a problem. However, as I learned just in the past 6 months, there are specific stations where bikes can be brought on board. For a complete list of these stations pick up our 2009 bike map. These "raised platform" stops are also the ADA accessible ones. It's confusing and unfortunate you can't just go to any stop.
Bike Pittsburgh (and the new Bike/Ped Coordinator) are still working with the Port Authority to make their operations more bike-friendly.
Just to let you know, in the press conference we did with the Mayor, Councilman Dowd and Steve Bland, Steve said publicly that folks should feel free to contact him about service issues. If you like you should email him. sbland@portauthority.org.
2009-01-09 14:57:43
I used to live in Polish Hill and work at West Liberty!
Never tired the T though, not sure why not.
What route do you take over Mt Washington?
2009-01-09 17:54:53
it might even be helpful to print out the page from PAT's website that has the rules so that if they give you trouble then you can show them. it sucks, but it's obvious that PAT isn't educating the operators on this, so unfortunatley it's up to us. eventually they'll get the hint.
2009-01-09 18:48:46
The last time I tried was in early October, outbound from Station Square, at about 6:45 p.m. That particular train was very crowded, but there was a lot of space at the very back, as in, I could have rotated the bike 360 degrees w/o touching anything or anybody. The driver ordered me off, and as I was 80 feet away from him with no way to argue, I just got off. Yeah, I should have followed up, and didn't. My bad.
2009-01-09 21:06:12
Tried getting on with my bike on a sunday afternoon, inbound. I was told by the driver that he had the right to refuse a bicycle anytime he wanted, and that bikes were only allowed to come on board in stops that had raised platforms. both of these things do not appear in their rules anywhere. i love the T, but this makes no sense to me, as it was not rush hour (or even a weekend). sent a long email to PAT, never heard back. i take the T nearly everyday (sans bike) and love it...but bring a bike into the equation, and it all goes wrong.
2009-06-04 03:37:25
sometimes i can't believe how unprofessional the operators are
2009-06-04 03:51:58
also, please send this complaint to Steve Bland, the ceo of the port authority as well: sbland@portauthority.org
2009-06-04 03:53:38
I've experienced the platform rule with an obstinate driver, except I was trying to exit the train. It is an awkward stairwell to be carrying a bike up or down, so I can see why they don't want to deal with that liability.
2009-06-05 20:50:26