Missing a Bike? Metro Wants to Know

Metro is trying to be more bike-friendly and in the process hopes to rid stations of potentially abandoned bikes.

A recent "census" taken by the transit agency identified bikes that appeared to be abandoned at bike docks throughout the system.

A PlantItMetro study showed that the use of bike parking is up 3 percent in 2012 from last year. Capacity for bike parking also increased thanks to several newly-installed racks; Metro now has parking for 4,000 bikes.

"To make space available for bicycle customers and to discourage theft, Metro Transit Police will soon begin a process to tag and remove these bicycles. From the time the bike is tagged, owners will have 10 days to remove it," according to a press release from Metro.

The agency counted bikes on warm, sunny days, between 9:30 a.m. and 3 p.m. from May 1 to June 15. 

The East Falls Church station is already crowded with bicycles, and Metro hopes the census will clear some room. The stop was sixth among stations with bikes parked, with 71 bicycles.

The following parked bike tally was compiled by Metro:

1. Braddock Road, 92
2. Takoma, 87
3. Vienna, 82
4. Franconia-Springfield, 75
5. Bethesda, 71
6. (tie) East Falls Church, 71

Ultimately, the agency wants to make it easier to get to and from stations on bike. 

"We generally have enough bike parking capacity at nearly all stations, but not all stations see equal usage.One missing piece could be bike-friendly infrastructure around the stations to allow bike-to-rail customers to comfortably and safely access stations," it said.

For the full report, click here.

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