New pilot program permits electrical bicycles for transit autos in Pittsburgh Port Authority | Information | Pittsburgh
CP Photo: Jared Wickerham
Port Authority tram stop in Dormont
After being confused about Pittsburgh’s policy on electric bicycles, the Allegheny Port Authority announced a pilot program that will allow electric assisted bicycles on light rail vehicles and the Manongahi Line starting Wednesday September 1, which will include a small electric motor to crank the rider, is always allowed in the front rack that is connected to the Port Authority Bus. The port authority is currently participating in several other public transport systems across the country to allow electric bicycles in transit vehicles.
In an interview with Pittsburgh City Paper, Port Authority CEO Catherine Keleman, said in an updated policy that all light rail vehicles south of Downtown First Avenue Station in Pittsburgh (all stations except Downtown and Northside) will last six months. Also said that electric bikes can be used. A pilot program that will allow you to use electric bicycles on light rail cars and the Manongahi Line Klein north of First Avenue Station. This pilot policy does not apply to Duquene Incline, which is operated by a private company rather than the Port Authority. Gasoline motorcycles and other gasoline vehicles are still prohibited on Port Authority vehicles.
Keleman is an e-bike supporter and says this could be a real solution to Pittsburgh’s desire for multimodal mobility.
As part of her pilot program for e-bike policy, she will be able to test her e-bike on transit vehicles that drive through cramped and difficult-to-access areas such as underground tunnels and light rail vehicles traveling uphill. It is said that it is so. On the slope of the slope.
“You can live south of First Avenue on an electric bike,” says Keleman. “But heartburn still lingers in tunnels and slopes.”
The announcement by the port authority comes after the driver was left in the dark about the authorities’ policy regarding electric bicycles. In July, the port authority tweeted that it would allow electric bikes anywhere in transport vehicles that allow normal bikes. But last week, authorities apparently said the opposite of lithium-ion batteries. (On rare occasions, the electric bike’s battery would ignite.) According to the August announcement, the original July policy was misrepresented.
The Bike Pittsburgh advocacy group then sent a letter to the port authorities asking them to reconsider the ban on electric bicycles. Scott Bricker, director of Bicycle Pittsburgh, says the group is pleased that electric bikes are allowed in transit.
“We are grateful that the port authority listened to us and took a step back and approached this policy rationally,” says Bricker. You can go to the place where you want to change trains without a car. ”
If no accidents occur during the six-month pilot phase, the port authorities will permanently permit all light rail vehicles and electric bicycles on the Manongahi Line Klein.
One of the e-bike riders who will benefit from this policy is Ernest Jackson, who lives in South Hills. He is retiring and riding an electric bike twice a week on a light rail to Pittsburgh to the Library Station, two miles from his house, to visit his brother on the North Side and shop in the Strip area. Jackson says having an electric bike on the go is in line with the Pittsburgh Multimodal Transit Port Authority’s goals, where people can use various non-car mobility options to get around.
He says it is also important to allow electric bikes on public transit to get an ever-increasing number of electric bike riders in Pittsburgh to abandon their cars and use public transit instead.
“If you want to be drawn in to Pittsburgh’s growing community, kick them in the ankles unless they allow electric bikes in transit,” says Jackson.
Aaron Stein, co-founder of Kindred Cycles in the Strip, agreed that his bike shop saw a significant increase in sales of electric bikes over the past year.
“It’s still a big part of our business and has grown to 30% of motorcycle sales in dollars,” says Stein.
Stein has also heard of the rare problem with the ignition of an e-bike battery, but he has never experienced it himself or received customer complaints. He says that talking about battery ignition usually has to do with people destroying the engine, or with bikes charging or overcharging. (The battery of an electric bike that is idling can catch fire, but it is less common.)
Keleman says her agency has been discussing with other modes of transport how to work on the electric bike policy. Transportation Los Angeles, New Jersey, and other cities allow electric bicycles to be used on light rail and other forms of transportation. She says it’s worth testing how pilots work on the go because they understand that people don’t charge their bikes while they’re driving.
She is grateful to be a pilot and to be able to work with partners like Bike Pittsburgh to achieve the Port Authority’s goal of allowing more people in transit and fewer people to use cars in Allegheny County. Say it fits.
“I am really grateful for the opportunity to get this right. These are our game changers off-road, ”says Kelleman, referring to his ability to climb e-bike hills. “Electric bikes can connect you perfectly [many of Pittsburgh’s] Neighborhood within easy walking distance. Freedom doesn’t have to own a car, and we want to support these other options. ”
New pilot program enables electric bicycles for transit vehicles in Pittsburgh Port Authority | News | Pittsburgh
Source link New pilot program enables electric bicycles for transit vehicles in Pittsburgh Port Authority | News | Pittsburgh
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