New Metro Transit eLockers make it easier to bike and ride

July 2, 2013

Summary

King County Metro Transit this week launched a new on-demand bike locker project to offer cyclists a more flexible and efficient option for accessing transit by bicycle.

Story

King County Metro Transit this week launched a new on-demand bike locker project to offer cyclists a more flexible and efficient option for accessing transit by bicycle.

Sixty-eight new bike locker spaces are available at 10 transit facilities, where cyclists can pay a fee to use an enclosed space to store their bike for five cents an hour after buying a $20 access card.

The new lockers are available at:

• Aurora Village Transit Center
• Eastgate Park-and-Ride
• Issaquah Highlands Park-and-Ride
• Kenmore Park-and-Ride
• Northgate Transit Center
• Renton Transit Center
• South Kirkland Park-and-Ride (available once garage construction is complete)
• South Renton Park-and-Ride
• South Sammamish Park-and-Ride
• Tukwila Park-and-Ride

Metro already offers about 240 leasable assigned bike lockers at 27 transit facilities to cyclists who agree to ride three or more days per week. Assigned lockers are available to one person at a time for a one-time refundable $50 key deposit. However, transit agencies throughout the country have found that while assigned bike lockers have high rental rates, the actual daily use remains low since users have no incentive to turn in their key when not using their locker.

By using on-demand bike lockers, Metro estimates a possible fivefold increase in usage over the current assigned bike locker system, said Eileen Kadesh, Metro Transit planner overseeing transit bike facilities.

The new system gives riders who purchase an access card the option of spontaneously riding to any participating transit facility, including those in other states, instead of being tied to an assigned locker at one location, Kadesh said. The new on-demand lockers are part of the BikeLink system, which includes bicycle parking facilities at Tri-Met in Portland, Ore., BART in the San Francisco Bay Area, in Vancouver, Wash., and other cities.

Metro has a three-year operating and customer service agreement with eLock Technologies for the lockers. Metro received a federal grant to pay for the lockers. During the next three years, Metro will be evaluating user acceptance, maintenance issues, usage rates and pricing. Go online to see details about the program and how to use the lockers.


(On-demand bike lockers at Aurora Village Transit Center)