05/18/07
CTA is promoting the environmentally-friendly and convenient bike-to-transit connections through the Bike to Transit Week celebration May 21-27. Throughout the week CTA will participate in a series of events to promote its Bike & Ride program and is encouraging customers to bring bicycles on CTA buses and trains as part of their commutes.
CTA Bike & Ride rules allow two bicycles on each rail car at all hours of operation, with the exception of morning (7 to 9 a.m.) and evening (4 to 6 p.m.) rush hours, and during special events such as July 3rd when customer loads are very heavy. Bikes are allowed on rail cars during all hours on weekends and folding bikes are allowed on CTA vehicles at all times.
All CTA buses are equipped with bike racks mounted on the front of the bus that carry two bicycles each and take as little as 30 seconds to load. Customers may use the racks any time during service hours. Children under 14 are required to be accompanied by an adult when bringing a bicycle on board a CTA train or bus.
Throughout the week Mayor Daley's Bicycle Ambassadors and volunteers from the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation will be staged at key bike-to-transit connection points throughout the city to provide maps that highlight convenient and fun bike-to-transit routes throughout Chicago and the surrounding suburbs. The group will also perform bus bike rack demonstrations for CTA customers and cycling enthusiasts at the following locations:
Monday, May 21
1 p.m. " 5 p.m.
CTA Blue Line Forest Park station
Tuesday, May 22
1 p.m. " 5 p.m.
Art's Cycle Shop
1646 E. 55th Street
Wednesday, May 23
10:30 a.m. " 1:30 p.m.
CTA Jefferson Park Blue Line station
Thursday, May 24
3 p.m. " 5 p.m.
CTA's Clark and Lake ? main entrance in Thompson Center
Saturday, May 26
2 p.m. " 5 p.m.
North Lakefront Trail
3 p.m. " 5 p.m.
18th Street ? CTA Pink Line station
Sunday, May 27
7 a.m. " 1 p.m.
Bike the Drive
Columbus and Balbo, Lower Hutchinson Field
CTA introduced its Bike & Ride program to customers in May 2000 as part of its ongoing effort to encourage environmentally-friendly transportation. Since that time, CTA has mounted bicycle racks on all of its buses, installed indoor bicycle parking at 81 CTA stations. There are 496 inside and 1,124 outside bike spaces.
The CTA Bike & Ride program is a collaborative effort between the CTA, the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, the Chicago Department of Transportation Bicycle Program and the CTA's Americans with Disabilities Act Advisory Committee.
For more information on the Bike & Ride Program and Bike-to-Transit Week, visit CTA's web site at www.transitchicago.com or the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation's web site at www.biketraffic.org.
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