Bike racks at Tasker-Morris station

As bicycle ridership continues to rise in Philly, as does the need to accommodate the growing number of bicycles Philadelphians park so they can go and do their thing.

SEPTA recently announced plans to expand their current underground bicycle parking at the Tasker-Morris Station along the Broad Street Line from six U-racks to 16.

The original six racks were introduced to the station in August 2016 as SEPTA’s first underground bicycle parking.

Authority officials observed that even in the dead of winter, the racks were filled to capacity. The addition of ten more racks will expand SEPTA’s ‘bike and ride’ program to encourage cycling as a form of commuting.

Besides bike racks, other features have been added to the station to accommodate cyclists and prevent bike theft, including security cameras. The station also incorporated signage about SEPTA’s bicycling parking and educational information regarding locking one’s bike to a U-rack, and has signs signaling the underground parking location.

SEPTA aims to expand the Bike and Ride program beyond the Tasker-Morris station by installing additional underground U-racks at other Broad Street Line stations, like Snyder and Ellsword-Federal, as well as 2nd Street Station on the Market-Frankford Line.

In the coming year, more bike racks will pop up at the street-level at Berks, 30th and 46th Street Stations on the Market-Frankford Line and at Cecil B. Moore and Oregon Stations on the Broad Street Line.

These efforts will hopefully increase ridership in the city, especially among those using public transit. Additional bike racks will help solve the “last mile gap” that occurs when a station or stop is out of walking range, and help connect the city’s different modes of transportation.