Could Metro allow bicycles during rush hour?

Yesterday, San Francisco’s BART system lifted its long-standing ban on allowing bicycles on rush-hour trains. Given bicycling’s popularity in the DC area, and the Metro system’s packed park and ride lots, perhaps a similar reform would work here.

After a lengthy trial process, BART will allow bikes on all its trains at all times, finally giving people an easy way to cross the San Francisco Bay with a bike. Like Metro, BART is overloaded through the urban core of San Francisco, and there were concerns that bikes would just make things worse.

The three trial periods were progressively more intense. BART allowed bikes on Fridays for a month, then for one full week, then for five full months. The agency wanted to measure how much disruption bicycles would cause and to gauge public support. As it turned out, the concerns were unfounded, and public support was quite high. Crowding did not get worse, and 79 percent of riders wanted to see the ban lifted entirely.

Like BART, Metro doesn’t allow bikes during rush hour due to fears of crowding. But if passengers could bring bicycles on the train without inconveniencing others, there’s no reason it would be a problem here.

Perhaps WMATA ought to consider a series of trials, too, to gauge how it affects our commutes. Metro is not BART, after all, and so may not be as good a fit. We won’t know unless we try.