Warm Planet Bikes opens in S.F.

From the San Francisco Chronicle, 01.08.08:

S.F. Caltrain station offers valet parking for bicyclists
Margo Rodriguez of San Jose drops off her bike with Kash,...

A valet service for bicyclists who commute on Caltrain will get an official welcome Wednesday in yet another acknowledgment by Bay Area transportation officials that pedal-power has arrived as a viable alternative to the private automobile.

The service, located at Fourth and Townsend streets next door to the Caltrain Station in San Francisco's South of Market neighborhood, offers free and secure bike parking for rail commuters.

It's a perfect setup for people such as Amandeep Jawa, a 38-year-old software engineer who lives in San Francisco and commutes to Cupertino. On occasion, he has been bumped from a train because the limited spaces on-board reserved for bicycles has hit capacity and he is faced with waiting for the next train or leaving his bike behind. "With the bike station, I have a place to leave it and don't have to worry about it getting stolen," he said. (Read more.)

The article indicates Caltrain has 2,300 bike boardings a day; in addition to hundreds of bicycles left at stations at racks and bike lockers. This is a very significant share of Caltrain's total ridership. Warm Planet Bikes began serving multimodal commuters a few months ago; the retail bike shop component opens on January 9. Kudos to the ceaseless advocacy efforts for such a facility by the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition.

Image: San Francisco Chronicle
Visit: Bike valet serves Caltrain passengers, San Mateo County Times, 01.10.08
Visit: Valet bike parking could save the planet
Visit: Valet Bike Parking: An idea whose time has come
Visit: Berkeley Bike Station Video
Visit: Paul Dorn's Bike Commuting Tips