MTA Tries Adding Bike Racks To Fronts Of Verrazano-Routed Buses

Two buses with routes connecting Brooklyn and Staten Island will soon get some shiny new bike racks.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) announced that, starting Sunday, September 6, it will roll out its pilot Bike & Ride program, allowing cyclists to attach their bikes to the fronts of S53 and S93 buses — both of which cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.

The lines were chosen for their safe access to current and planned bicycle paths, ridership and routes, which serve the College of Staten Island, where bicycling is a popular commuting option. Department of Transportation (DOT) commissioner and MTA board member Polly Trottenberg said the program will “provide a key connection for cyclists between Brooklyn and Staten Island.”

Previously, there was no direct way for cyclists to travel back and forth between Brooklyn and Staten Island, despite pressure from The Harbor Ring and other advocates for the MTA to build a bike lane on the Verrazano, connecting the 50-mile bicycle and pedestrian path that circles around Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island, Bayonne, Jersey City, and Hoboken.

“Now customers can take advantage of the city’s bike lanes and greenways without worrying about how to transport their bicycles,” said Darryl C. Irick, president of MTA Bus. “A future expansion will depend on results of this pilot and will most likely focus on routes that cross bridges.”

Bikes are not allowed inside buses, but they can be brought on the subway as long as doors are not blocked.