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Entries tagged: Bus Driver Training

In my post last week about the new bike-friendly developments with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, I failed to give the Boston Cyclists Union their due. The BCU played a key role in discussions with the MTBA and their work should have been highlighted in the headline. Thanks to BCU founder and director, Pete Stidman, for bringing the omission to my attention!

Speaking of progress in Boston, several other Alliance member organizations — MassBike, LivableStreets, and the Boston Cyclists Union — have been building on their relationships with the local transit agency to enhance bicyclists’ access to stations and safety on the streets.

Back in April, advocates from MassBike and the Boston Cyclists Union met with officials at the MBTA to discuss how they could work together to better align cyclists and buses as allies, instead of enemies, on city streets. The result: An improved bicyclist safety training for bus drivers that draws on best practices from other areas, like Chicago.

Last month, David Watson, executive director for MassBike attended one of the trainings. “We are happy to report that the new training is a vast improvement over past policies and should go a long way to making bicyclists safer on the roads,” MassBike reported in its newsletter. “During the training, a bus driver will review past incidents, participate in a classroom session with a bicycling advocate present to answer questions, go through a number of bicyclist-driver simulations, and finally be tested through road evaluations. The end result should be a bus driver who is knowledgeable and well-prepared for operating a bus safely around bicyclists.”

The MBTA is also making it easier, and safer, for cyclists to take advantage of public transit themselves. Again, with some urging from Boston advocates, the agency is upping its parking options for folks on two wheels.

“From now through next spring, the MBTA will be installing 50 BikePorts around their stations,” MassBike says. “The BikePorts are canopied bike racks, so you’ll be able to lock up with some protection from the elements… During 2011, the T will also complete six more Pedal & Parks — the T’s secure bike-parking facilities. So far, the three operational Pedal & Parks have been a huge success, and are constantly filled with bicycles. The new facilities… will be able to hold 100-150 bicycles… Lastly, over the next 18 months, 100 percent of the MBTA’s bus fleet will be equipped with bike racks, so you’ll finally be able to rely on the next bus having a rack (and let your bike do some of the riding for a change).”

Learn more and follow Boston’s progress via MassBike’s blog and the Boston Cyclists Union.