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Amtran on Wednesday created a policy for dealing with bicycles brought to bus stops by customers.
The confusion surrounding bikes stems from drivers encountering customers with gasoline-powered bikes, along with ebikes, said Transportation Supervisor Michele Barnes.
Bikes were already prohibited informally inside buses, but under the new policy, ebikes can go in the outside racks, provided they fit and can be secured properly -- while gas-powered bikes are prohibited entirely.
Some ebikes have fat tires, and don't fit into the racks said Maintenance Director Bernie Walkowsky.
Gas bikes could be dangerous, even on an outside rack, if a bus rear-ends another vehicle, said CEO Josh Baker.
While there are wheelchair accommodations that become available when the side-facing seats just behind the driver are folded up, and while those can be used for strollers and pull-behind shopping carts, bikes of any sort are hard to secure inside, take up a lot of room and may end up sticking into the aisles, Baker said.
In creating the new policy, Barnes consulted Amtran transit attorney Jill Nagy of Reading and looked at policies posted at seven other transit agencies, Baker said.
There has been an uptick in the number of customers with bikes, Barnes said.
One rider wished to board with a gas can. Another wanted to board with a lawnmower, she said.
The driver didn't allow that, which was correct, Baker said, saying he feels bad about such a prohibition, but it would have been unsafe.
The new policy will be posted so passengers, operators and dispatchers will know how to deal with bikes, Barnes said.
The racks have a two-bike capacity.
There was no previous bicycle policy.
Mirror Staff Writer William Kibler is at 814-949-7038.