Starting Monday, Caltrain will expand the Bikes Board First program to three additional stations: Sunnyvale and Hillsdale on the northbound platform, and 22nd Street on the southbound platform.
From 6 a.m. to 9 a.m., bicyclists will be able to board first at those locations and are encouraged to board the bike cars at the southern end of the platform, according to the transit agency.
The pilot program began in April at the Redwood City, Mountain View and Palo Alto stations and aims to prevent bicyclists from having to navigate through a crowd of riders blocking an entrance, delaying the boarding process. Since the pilot began, boarding times have reduced, “with some trains shaving more than a minute from their boarding times,” according to Caltrain.
As the pilot program continues, boardings will be timed and compared to the standard boarding process to determine the strategy’s effectiveness.
“Caltrain carries more bikes than any other rail system in the country, so it’s our hope that this will make the riding experience more efficient and get everyone to where they’re going faster,” said Caltrain spokesman Dan Lieberman.”
