Retractable Bicycle Retention Device for Metra Ada-Accessible Coach Cars

• Hope Rojas
• Martin Killarney
• Jeet Patel
• Nicole Melnarowicz

Metra, the fourth-busiest commuter rail system in the United States, serves over 290,000 passengers each weekday with a fleet of over 1,000 coaches. With the increasing popularity of bicycling in the Chicagoland area, cyclists have become a growing segment of Metra’s daily ridership; however, there is no specific accommodation for bicycles on its existing coaches. The current Metra policy is for cyclists to secure their bikes to seat frames in designated wheelchair-accessible areas using their own bungee cords. This creates interference issues with passenger seating and wheelchair access as well as the risk of improperly or unsecured bikes falling into the aisleway. To address these safety and accessibility concerns, our team set out to develop a bike rack for mounting bikes of varying sizes. Unlike the bike racks found on most transit vehicles, this device is vertically retractable, thus preventing tripping hazards and allowing for use of passenger seats when stowed. It is held in place by redundant safety catches and gas springs which allow for a controlled decline. Accompanied by detailed and illustrative instructional decals, this user-friendly device is safe, secure, and simple. The lightweight, stainless-steel bike rack meets Metra and industry requirements for structural strength and fire safety, also allowing for drop-in installation on existing Metra coaches. As such, it was designed to be both easily and economically manufactured, assembled, and installed by Metra craft personnel with no special tooling or training. Our team was able to successfully develop a durable and cost-effective solution that not only resolves current safety issues and conserves space, but also provides Metra with a bike-friendly image which could help increase future ridership.