The new Siemens S700 light rail cars, in service on SacRT Gold Line and eventually on SacRT Blue Line, have very limited bicycle space. SacRT’s policy is that there can be four bicycles on each rail car, in the corner by the regular (not handicapped) doors. This policy was unchanged from that for the old light rail cars, so SacRT claimed there was no issue, however, the amount of space available is quite different. Most of the older cars had seats removed to provide additional bicycle space, in addition to the bike hooks on the 200 series cars. The practical bicycle space on these old rail cars was essentially 10 per car. The model of S700 that SacRT has purchased is designated by Siemens as ‘US’, meaning ultra-short. The cars are much shorter than the standard S700, with less space for passengers, wheelchairs, and bicycles. That mistake is not something that can be corrected – the cars are in service, and more are on order, and the light rail system will eventually be exclusively S700 ‘US’ cars.

There are conflicts between passengers and bicyclists, and in particular with wheelchair users who have priority access to the ‘priority seating’ area of fold-down-fold-up seats. There have been incidents of bicyclists who were using the ‘priority seating’ area refusing to move. There have been times when so many bicyclists have been on board that it was difficult for other to maneuver around them.

So, what can be done? Two partial solutions:

1. On-demand secure bicycle storage lockers at stations frequently used by bicyclists. Some bicyclists insist on bringing their bicycle on board, either because they need it at the destination, or because there is no secure bicycle storage at the station. Providing secure lockers would allow some bicyclists to leave their bike at the station, rather than bringing it on board. The standard secure bicycle storage solution is BikeLink lockers. Lockers provided by the City of Folsom at Historic Folsom, Glenn, and Iron Point are shown below. No other light rail stations have on-demand storage.

Way back in 2021, Sacramento Transit Advocates and Riders (STAR) made a formal request to SacRT that they provide on-demand secure bicycle storage lockers at light rail stations (secure bike parking). STAR had been talking to SacRT for several years before this on the same issue. The rental lockers provided at some stations were mostly not in use, and the public had no access to them except through a month-to-month rental. At that time, SacRT said they were ‘studying’ it. Meaning they weren’t actually doing anything. Bicyclist transit advocates have over the intervening years continued to ask SacRT about lockers. The answer is always the same – it is being ‘studied’. Nothing has happened. There is nothing related to the ‘study’ on the SacRT website. There is nothing in the board agenda. There is nothing in the budget.

The SACOG Mobility Zones program, which might site hubs at or near light rail stations has identified the Ben Ali/Swanston, Florin, and Rosemont/Western Rancho Cordova mobility zones. However, the zones so far defined do not guarantee co-location with stations. Note that the SACOG Mobility Zones map does not indicate light rail locations, so it is unlikely that it is a central part of site selection. The mobility hub diagrams show regular (unsecured) bike racks but do not show bike lockers.

SacRT is undertaking an apparently separate SacHub: Mobility Hubs Project for three light rail stations: Marconi/Arcade, Globe, and LaValentina/Alkalai Flat. There is no mention on the sparse page of secure bike storage, or even bike racks, for these hubs.

2. Add a bicycle hanging location in place of a seat on the S700 cars. The seat location is between the handicap ramp door and the accordion section. This would change the allowable bicycles from four to six per car. The photo below shows the bicycle hanging area on a Seattle area Sound Transit S700 light rail car. These are full size cars with more space, but the smaller space on the SacRT S700 cars would probably only allow one bicycle hook per location, or two per car. It is true that some bicyclists cannot lift their bicycle to the hook, but the on-floor locations would still be available for those people. I have been on some light rail vehicles that had bicycle storage in the middle section, between the accordion sections, but it was poorly designed and awkward to use.

In August of 2024, bicyclists at the light rail demonstration of the new S700 cars indicated that bicycle space was insufficient, and there needed to be more space to accommodate bicyclists. SacRT decided not to add this capability to the new cars.

My conclusion is that SacRT does not take the bicycles on light rail issue seriously, and does not intend to solve the problem.

Enough posts on SacRT and transit, for now, after 10 in the last two weeks. On to other transportation topics!