BOSTON REGION METROPOLITAN PLANNING ORGANIZATION HOME CONTACT US SEARCH SITE MAP
Mobility Monitoring – Bicycle/Pedestrian – Bicycle Parking at MBTA Stations
OVERVIEW • REGIONAL TRENDS • ROADWAYS • INTERSECTIONS • TRANSIT
BICYCLE/PEDESTRIAN • HOV LANES • TRAVEL DEMAND MANAGEMENT • PARK-AND-RIDE
Overview • Crosswalks at MBTA Stations • Bicycle Parking at MBTA Stations
Providing bicycle racks is one significant way to encourage riders to access transit stations by bicycle. Adequate bicycle parking facilities may contribute to increased transit ridership, especially since conventional bicycles are not allowed on MBTA trains during peak travel periods (bicycles are allowed on all commuter boat trips, and some buses are equipped with bicycle racks).

Staff inventoried MBTA and city/town bicycle racks at 114 commuter rail stations, 28 rapid transit stations, three ferry terminals, and one express bus lot between January 2009 and August 2010. Previous inventories were done in 1999–2000, 2002, and 2005–06. The 2009–10 inventory included only stations with automobile park-and-ride lots.
General Findings
Of the MBTA stations included in the 2009–10 inventory, 88 percent have bicycle racks. On a typical weekday morning, the overall utilization rate for bicycle parking spaces throughout the system was 22 percent; however, the number of bicycle parking spaces and the utilization rates vary greatly among the different stations in the system.

Bicycles were parked in locations other than at bicycle racks at seven rapid transit stations and 30 commuter rail stations. Bicycles parked in areas other than at bicycle racks can be an indication that bicycle racks are not fully serving their intended purpose—to provide a safe and convenient place to park a bicycle. Recommendations for improving bicycle parking conditions at these stations were made and are documented in a memorandum, which can be downloaded at right. Data tables on the supply and utilization of bicycle parking at MBTA stations, as well as the availability of bicycle amenities, are also available for download.
Rapid Transit
Bicycle parking utilization at the 28 rapid transit stations surveyed during the 2009–10 inventory was 34 percent overall. The total number of bicycle parking spaces on the rapid transit lines increased by 56 percent between the 1999–2000/2002 and 2005–06 inventories, during which time there was an 11 percent increase in the number of bicycles parked at rapid transit stations. This led to a decrease in the bicycle parking space utilization rate, from 48 percent in the 1999–2000/2002 inventory to 34 percent in the 2005–06 inventory. Seventeen percent of rapid transit stations do not have bicycle racks.
Commuter Rail
The total number of bicycle parking spaces in the commuter rail system increased by 31 percent between the 2005–06 and 2009-10 inventories. The bicycle parking space utilization rate was 17 percent in the 2005–06 inventory and 16 percent in the 2009–10 inventory. Ten percent of the commuter rail stations monitored do not have bicycle racks.
Bus
Only one express bus lot (the Woburn lot) was included in the 2009–10 inventory; this lot does not have a bicycle rack.
Commuter Boat
In the 2009–10 inventory, the two commuter boat terminals with bicycle racks (Hingham and Hull) had a combined utilization rate of 15 percent. In the 2005–06 inventory, only the Hingham terminal was surveyed; at that time, the bicycle parking utilization rate was 20 percent.