CA: Caltrain may ban bikes with child seats. Parents say it could upend their commutes

When Matt Sorgenfrei boarded a southbound Caltrain to work last week, he faced a stern warning from the conductor.

Sorgenfrei hadn’t cheated on his fare. He wasn’t barefoot or shirtless, nor was he blaring music through a loud speaker. But he did carry an item that would soon be banned from the rail system: a small e-bike with a child’s bucket seat in back.

A serious look passed over the conductor’s face, as he assessed the bike while checking Sorgenfrei’s proof of payment.

“Just so you know,” Sorgenfrei remembered the man saying,“this kind of bike is not going to be allowed starting at the end of March.”

Members of Caltrain’s Bicycle and Active Transportation Advisory Committee had discussed changing the bike policy in November in response to concerns that certain mobility devices were hogging space. While the Peninsula commuter rail system has long accommodated cyclists, reserving two cars on each train for bike and scooter parking, officials have always relied on passengers to maintain a sense of etiquette.

But keeping peace has evidently become difficult as ridership rebounds on Caltrain, the bike cars fill up during rush hour and the two-wheelers get bigger. That’s not to mention all the accessories that are now available, including racks to haul groceries or large benches to carry kids. Each bulky accoutrement becomes an obstruction in a crowded train car, drawing complaints from other passengers.

To keep the peace, Caltrain staff drafted a policy, set to take effect on March 23, which would ban “extra fat” tires that are more than 3 inches wide, extra long frames or wheel bases, longtails, cargo bikes or extended e-bikes, and — most distressingly for parents like Sorgenfrei — bikes with trailers, baskets, panniers or child seats. The agency published these new restrictions on its website, with a notice encouraging cyclists to use bike share whenever possible, and leave their oversize vehicles at home, or to stow big bikes in Caltrain’s secure lockers. The agency provides more than 500 such compartments across the system, and many can accommodate large cargo bikes, Caltrain spokesperson Dan Lieberman said.

Lieberman maintained that Caltrain “is proud to carry more bikes on board than any other heavy rail system in the United States,” and that agency leaders want “all bike-riding passengers to feel comfortable.” He said the new policy is not fixed, and that people should attend the BATAC meeting on March 19 to express worries or criticisms.

Still, Sorgenfrei and other parents are perturbed by the requirements articulated on Caltrain’s website.

“This is kind of a nonstarter for me,” Sorgenfrei said, noting how important the small baby blue bucket seat is to the fundamental operation of his morning commute. He uses it to drop one of his sons off at school in San Francisco’s Richmond neighborhood, on his way to the Caltrain station in SoMa. When he gets off in Mountain View, the remaining distance to his office is just far enough that walking would eat up 25 minutes of his work day, and another 25 minutes going back in the evening. On the bike, he can zip to the office in five minutes.

“I’d basically lose an hour,” Sorgenfrei said, imagining how he might adapt to the new rules.

Caltrain’s SoMa Station has a secure bike hub where he could park the child seat vehicle all day, but that still leaves the last-mile problem of getting to the office. He could take ride-hails every day but the cost adds up. He could buy a cheap beater bike and permanently lock it at the Mountain View Station, hoping it doesn’t get stolen.

No solution is ideal, he said, noting that other bike-enthusiast parents are confronting the same predicament. He recalled that when the conductor announced the new rules over an intercom, as his train chugged through San Mateo County, a woman in the bike car seemed to deflate. She had an analog bicycle with a small child seat, similar to Sorgenfrei’s.

“She listened, and asked a question,” he said. “You could see her going through all the phases of shock and concern.”

Over the last several days, bike-riding parents have flooded Caltrain and its bicycle advisory committee with emails. Committee members are bracing for a full house at the March 19 meeting.

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