Bike to Work Day is May 16 — a day when Metro joins Commuter Connections, the Washington Area Bicyclist Association and more than 10,000 commuters for a celebration of bicycling as a clean, fun and healthy way to get to work.
If riding all the way to work seems a bit daunting, have no fear. Biking to a Metrorail station or loading your bike on Metrobus counts too! Nearly every Metrorail station is equipped with bike racks where riders can secure their bikes, and every Metrobus has a bike rack on the front with space for up to two bikes.
This year, Metro will host Bike to Work Day pit stops at Fort Totten, College Park-U of Md and East Falls Church Stations. Riders can stop by the pit stop during the morning or evening commute for free t-shirts and other giveaways, maps, safety tips and a bus bike rack demonstration. In addition, Metro Transit Police will be at all three pitstops distributing free U-locks to cyclists who register their bikes. To sign up, or for more information on these and other pit stops, visit biketoworkmetrodc.org.
"Biking to Metro is a safe, fun, convenient, healthy and environmentally conscientious way to commute. This is our second year to partner with Commuter Connections and WABA on Bike to Work Day," said Patrick Schmitt, director of parking at Metro. "We are working to upgrade our bicycle parking in order to encourage people to bike to Metro. We are adding bike parking capacity, investing in secure 'Bike & Ride' facilities, and making improvements to paths and lighting for safe bicycling.”
Fort Totten station is accessible via the Metropolitan Branch Trail and Prince George’s Connector Trail. College Park-U of Md station has access to the Anacostia Northwest Branch Trail via Paint Branch Parkway. East Falls Church is directly accessible via the W&OD Trail and bike lanes on North Sycamore Street.
Standard bicycles are permitted on Metrorail at all times except weekdays from 7 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 7 p.m. Folding bikes are permitted at all times.
Other Metro bike improvements
Metro welcomes Capital BikeShare this year to five Metrorail stations - Fort Totten, Rhode Island Avenue, Takoma, Rockville and Shady Grove.
Metro has added capacity for more than 500 bikes with new racks at Benning Road, Braddock Road, Brookland, Capitol Heights, Dupont Circle, East Falls Church, Glenmont, Largo Town Center, Morgan Boulevard, Potomac Avenue, Rhode Island Avenue, Rockville, Shady Grove, Shaw-Howard, Silver Spring, Stadium-Armory, Takoma, Van Ness, and West Hyattsville since 2011.
When Metro staircases receive an upgrade, a “stair channel” such as the one at Rhode Island Avenue Station is being added to make carrying a bicycle to or from the station easier.
Metro is designing and constructing new Bike & Ride facilities, like the one at opened in 2012 at College Park-U of Md. The next Bike & Ride facilities are planned for Vienna, East Falls Church, Franconia-Springfield and West Hyattsville. These facilities are secure, enclosed parking structure on the first level of the station's parking garage, featuring bright LED lighting, security cameras, an emergency callbox and card-controlled access. More information
Metro bike facts
- Bike parking utilization increased 7.5 percent from 2012 to 2013.
- Currently, 85 of 86 stations (all but Arlington Cemetery) have bike racks available.
- Metro provides more than 6,000 bike parking spaces near Metrorail stations. An increase of 2,000 spaces since 2012.
