TTC limits bike rack access on some buses

About 200 buses will only allow one bike in the rack.

Thestar.com
May14, 2015
By Tess Kalinowski

The TTC is limiting the use of bike racks on some of its buses.

All buses will still accept at least one bike on each rack and most will still allow two. But the 153 bendy buses and about 50 new 40-ft. Nova buses arriving later this year will only take one bike on the rack at the front of the vehicle.

Those buses still comprise only a minority of the TTC's 1,800-vehicle fleet, said spokesman Brad Ross.

They are the models where the driver sits a little lower relative to the bike rack and the bike at the front of the rack can impede the operator's sight line creating a safety issue.

The Ministry of Labour last year ordered the TTC to review driver sight lines in relation to the bike racks.

"We did an assessment on ergonomics and worked to try and find a solution - we looked for an engineered solution with respect to the rack and the bus itself and were unable to come up with one. So the limit to one bike on that (part of the fleet) was the solution," said Ross.

If a second cyclist wants to ride one of those buses, the driver can allow the bike on board in the off-peak as long as there's room, he said.

Drivers can also require cyclists to remove baskets or child seats from their bikes if the rider is using the rack.

The ministry order only applies to the TTC because it was one of the Toronto system's drivers who launched a complaint.

Most buses in the Toronto region have bike racks.