Caltrain Outlaws Cargo Bikes, Child Seats as Demand Overwhelms Bike Cars

The San Francisco Bay Area’s Caltrain system announced it will begin banning cargo bikes, other larger bikes, and pannier bags from its bike trains as demand for bike space outpaces supply, reports Roger Rudick in Streetsblog San Francisco.

Bikes with “wide of extra-fat tires,” “extra-long frames or wheelbases,” cargo bikes and longtails, and attachments such as baskets, panniers, and child seats will no longer be allowed on Caltrain — meaning many families who travel with small children will now be unable to do so.

According to the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition’s Christopher White, “While crowded bike trains have been an issue as Caltrain has increased its ridership, the core problem is that they haven't allotted enough space on their updated fleet of trains to accommodate an appropriate volume of people riding bikes.” Shirley Johnson of advocacy group BIKES ONBoard said, “Instead of a ban, it would be better to ask people with larger bicycles to use their discretion and travel off-peak whenever possible. Caltrain needs to remember that every passenger with a bicycle is a paying customer.”

Advocates say Caltrain set itself up for the overcrowding by not including enough bike cars on its trains, and the new rules will likely shift bike and transit trips to cars. Over 20 percent of Caltrain riders arrive to or leave transit stations by bike.