Houston Metro expands bike hours

Houston Metro is working with BikeHouston to develop additional ways to make public transportation a viable option when biking around Houston.  

The regional transportation authority is working with the bicycle advocacy group to get the word out about expanded hours for bicycles boarded on MetroRail and the need for safety as the new policy takes effect.

Starting July 19, bike riders can board light-rail vehicles Monday through Friday, except for peak hours (6:30 to 9 a.m. and 3 to 6 p.m.), when passenger loads are heaviest and boarding with a bike most difficult. Bikes are limited to two per rail car including weekends at all service hours.

Bikes, until now, were allowed on trains from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. until the last evening run. 

Working with the biking community, Metro launched a bike rack program on buses in 2007. 

Today, most Metro buses are equipped with either bike racks or storage compartments, and total bikes boarded since the launch have topped 156,000.

BikeHouston and Metro are examining other ways to make Houston transit more bike friendly with collaboration on placement of bike racks along light-rail boarding platforms and utilization of interior space on rail cars as more miles are added to local light-rail systems.