B and B Solution

The weather is getting cooler, but it’s not yet time to hang up the bike in the garage.

The City of Windsor wants commuters to try their B and B Solution: Bike and Bus.

“The message … is kind of two-fold. We want people to think outside the box about their cycling trips and how they can use Windsor Transit to maybe cycle a little more,” said Josette Eugeni, manager of transportation planning for the City of Windsor.

Eugeni said the city has uploaded videos to their YouTube channel explaining how cyclists can use a service offered by Transit Windsor to ease their commute. Many of the city’s buses are fitted with bike racks, so cyclists can ride on two wheels for part of their trip and four for the remainder.

“I think people think about cycling to work or cycling to school or to a destination and maybe they are uncomfortable that their ride is farther than they would like or they don’t necessarily want to have to shower when they get to their destination,” Eugeni said. “Maybe by trimming off a few kilometres they can still use their bicycle.”

The bike racks, which are available from March 15 to Dec. 15, are well used according to Stephan Habrun, planning manager for Transit Windsor. All 76 fully handicap-accessible buses in the city – 73 per cent of the city’s fleet – have been equipped with bike racks for approximately a decade.

“It’s a good partnership,” Habrun said. “We’ve had bike racks on our buses for a number of years. It’s another link to the cycling community and another way for people to experience and use transit service and use bike paths and the bike network within the city of Windsor.”

Bike racks on buses are not exclusive to Windsor. Becky Schmidt, 25, made use of bike racks on her commute to school when she was a student at the University of Minnesota. She is now employed as a paramedic with Essentia Health St. Mary’s in Detroit Lakes, Minn.

“It works really well. (Bike racks are) very popular in Minneapolis,” Schmidt said. “That’s really good, they’re really efficient about it so it doesn’t even take very long. Everybody knows how to do it.”

However, some Windsorites are not as enthusiastic about the B and B Solution. Joe Orlando said he rides his bike to school every day and occasionally to work. He said bus drivers might be running late and do not want to stop for a bike rider.

“If you’re waiting at a bus stop with a bike, they don’t even stop for you,” said the 17-year-old Holy Names High School student.

Habrun said he is not aware of any complaints from cyclists regarding bus drivers not stopping and added bikes can be loaded very quickly and easily into the racks.

More information can be found on the City of Windsor website.

Cutline: Riders board a fully handicap-accessible bus equipped with a bike rack at the Windsor International Transit Terminal on Chatham Street West Oct. 16. (Photo by/Rob Benneian)