Both the TTC and GO Transit provide bicycle parking at most of their subway/train stations. Of the 64 TTC subway and SRT stations, 48 have bike racks. Stations without racks are typically in the downtown core, where the TTC has no space available at street level. Where feasible, the City has installed racks nearby on sidewalks/boulevards.
The TTC stations with racks have sufficient capacity for approximately 550 bicycles. A September 2000 survey showed 357 parked bicycles, with several stations at capacity. The number of parked bikes is a 32 percent increase over surveys done in 1993 as part of the TTC Bike-and-Ride Study. While this is still a relatively small number of bikes, it does suggest that bike-and-ride activity is increasing even without any promotional efforts.
Fourteen of the sixteen GO Train stations in Toronto have bicycle parking, with a total capacity of 166 bikes. A July 2000 usage survey noted 49 parked bikes. The Rouge Hill station, at the east boundary of the City, was the most popular location for bike-and-ride, with fifteen bikes.
At some of the TTC and GO Train stations, bicycle parking is close to or at capacity. At these locations, there is a significant risk of a cyclist having no place to lock the bicycle and thereby, making the bike-and-ride travel option much less attractive. An ongoing program of monitoring bicycle parking during the peak season (May to September) is required to ensure parking demand does not exceed supply. At stations where the number of parked bikes exceeds 75 percent of the capacity, additional racks will be installed. The City's Transportation Services Division already installs bike racks throughout the City, and these locations can be added to the existing program.
Recommendation 9-1 of Chapter 9 commits Transportation Services to the management of a city-wide bicycle parking program. This program will include the monitoring of bicycle rack usage at transit stations and the installation of additional racks when required. The 1999 Cycling Survey also included questions on bicycle parking at transit stations. Cyclists who had already tried bike-and-ride were asked if "convenient and secure" parking would increase the number of trips using this mode. 78 percent of utilitarian cyclists note that such parking would increase bike-and-ride trips, compared to 87 percent of recreational-only cyclists. The survey also asked cyclists ho had not tried bike-and-ride whether "convenient and secure" parking would encourage them to try this travel mode. 63 percent of utilitarian cyclists and 58 percent of recreational-only cyclists would consider combining cycling and transit if such parking were provided.
The importance of enhanced bicycle parking for encouraging bike and ride activity was also revealed in a recent American survey of avid recreational cyclists. Respondents were asked to rank the importance of several factors, such as trip length, when deciding how to get to work. The study authors conclude, "One of the best incentives to promote bike and ride is the provision of bicycle lockers or a similar option, such as guarded/covered parking."
