MTA Testing Bike Racks on Staten Island Buses

What is the one transit facility New York lacks that every other major city in the country has? Bike racks on buses. A new system was tested recently on the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, but it's a long way from delivery.

1 minute read

March 11, 2015, 11:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


Stephen Miller reports that the MTA has begun testing the use of bike racks on buses on a route crossing the Verrazano Narrows Bridge.

Miller is actually responding an anonymously-sourced story in the New York Post that seems more concerned with liability and delays for commuters should the bike racks be implemented.

Miller, however, notes that New York City is the outlier when it comes to bike racks on buses: "New York is the only major city in the country without bike racks on its buses, according to the Alliance for Biking and Walking, with cities as large and congested as Washington, Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Francisco outfitting their entire bus fleets with bike racks — all without major liability or on-time performance problems."

An MTA spokesperson explained to Miller, however, that the test was only a test, and MTA riders amd bikers shouldn't expect bike racks to be implemented anytime soon, even on the route from Staten Island to Brooklyn.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015 in StreetsBlog NYC

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Flat modern glass office tower with "County of Santa Clara" sign.

Santa Clara County Dedicates Over $28M to Affordable Housing

The county is funding over 600 new affordable housing units via revenue from a 2016 bond measure.

6 hours ago - San Francisco Chronicle

Aerial view of dense urban center with lines indicating smart city concept.

Why a Failed ‘Smart City’ Is Still Relevant

A Google-backed proposal to turn an underused section of Toronto waterfront into a tech hub holds relevant lessons about privacy and data.

7 hours ago - Governing

Pale yellow Sears kit house with red tile roof in Sylva, North Carolina.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing

Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.

May 23 - The Daily Yonder