So the other day I decided to try out the busway, to avoid the lethal hell that is 51. I got on at 88 and 51 and was happily tooling along on my way to Dormont, my destination. It's flat, clean, no traffic...PERFECT! Until, that is, I was swarmed by a flock of police cars!
I couldn't believe it. Bicycles are not allowed on a road designed for public transportation?!? Okay, as dumb as that is (and in this city, I keep my expectations pretty darn low), whatever. The cop said it was "too dangerous, because of the lack of sidewalks." I asked him if he had been down on 51 on a bicycle lately.
Then they wrote me a ticket? WTF? A TICKET? I'm not even in a CAR!
When I went down to pay it (it said $23 on it), the woman consulted some kind of list, then said, "That'll be $240." I almost laughed in her face. I told her to assign a court date; I'll definitely fight this one.
I'm pretty sure all the busway entrances have signs saying that you are not allowed to enter unless you are a bus or authorized vehicle. Good luck fighting that one; you deserve a ticket, just like any other vehicle that uses a road illegally...sorry.
I would advise repentance in court over "this law is stupid" Not ever having been in court as a defendant though, I'm not sure if either will help
I agree with pratt, the busway is not a public road, and while I would love to see a seperate bike lane that parallels the busways I would never be silly enough to try and bike on them.
However if this whole service cut thing goes on I would love to see the busways become bike ways on the weekends.
"However if this whole service cut thing goes on I would love to see the busways become bike ways on the weekends. "
People clearly cant even read signs that don't allow any unauthorized traffic what so ever. What makes you think that people wont use this during the weekdays causing all sorts of problems?
Those who can't read deserve to be punished.
Just my 2 cents, but let's cut st.ryder (and others) some slack. It's very tempting to use the busway as an alternative to less desirable roads, and who hasn't used the bus lane on Fifth or Smithfield at one time or another, or gone down a one way alley the wrong way. Yes he was in the wrong and yes he deservers a ticket, but $240! The last ticket I got was about ten years ago but it was like $120 (speeding on an interstate). How is riding a bike on a closed busway more dangerous than going over the speed limit in a three thousand pound car? If the cops patrolled Rt. 51 with this much enthusiasm maybe you could feel safer riding your bike on it.
+1 on putting bike lanes on the busways.
Thanks, Mark082. I've ridden all over America and bicycles are usually granted exceptions when it comes to places cars are not permitted to use. The irony of being punished for riding a bicycle on a road designed specifically to alleviate traffic is rather silly, especially with all the hooha going on these days about Pittsburgh's "Green Initiatives".
While there's no denying I'm in the wrong, a penalty of such magnitude is simply unacceptable; as mark082 pointed out, many speeding tickets are less than that. I'm not going into the courtroom in an attempt to scorn or change a law; any mental retard knows that's not the way laws get changed. I'm going to point out the incongruity of that fine, compared to those assessed against truly DANGEROUS activities, like speeding or DUI. Magistrates don't control laws...they DO control how much of a fine you eventually have to pay.
As for "all kinds of problems" it would cause having bicycles on that roadway, you've obviously never seen it. It's considerably wider than 95% of the roads you're riding now, and with almost zero traffic. And the traffic you are dealing with consists of professionally trained drivers, not morons drinking Starbucks and texting.
You're creating a much larger opportunity for problems riding down 51 on any given day, forcing people to give you right of way when they've barely got enough room to get a car through in some places. The fact that the considerably more dangerous choice is the legal one is the problem here.
Yea, I agree that a huge fine is out of proportion with the "crime". I've seen plenty of idiots pulled over for driving down the bus lane on 5th Ave in their CAR and I imagine they didn't get a $240 ticket. For at least three of the times I've seen it, the cop get out, talked a bit, pointed, and they backed out and went on their way. No exchange of license, insurance, ticket, etc. I imagine it would be much the same on a busway if someone just said, "oh I made a mistake and turned where I shouldn't and didn't know how to get out!"
It is a bummer that we can't ride on busways, but they are built, owned, and operated by the Port Authority, and unfortunately it is up to them to decide who can and can't use them.
while I agree that it is a considerably greater fine than speeding, it is probably considered a more dangerous act, for you and the users of the busway, than speeding...thus a higher fine.
As of Feb 2008, 85 in a 65 zone costs $152, add to that if it's a construction zone etc...where it's more dangerous to those around you.
DUI fines (and penalties) are far greater than $240 http://www.ehow.com/list_6771722_dui-penalties-pittsburgh_-pennsylvania.html
Again it doesn't matter how large or how unused that roadway is, it's not meant for public use. Period.
51 is a public road. If the busway was public, it would be just as dangerous for bikers as 51 is now. Roads designed without pedestrians and bikers in mind are inherently dangerous for both groups.
Bus lanes are far less obvious in their restrictions than the busway. So it makes sense that a police officer might let someone go with a warning when they are found in a bus lane.
Well, thanks for all your replies. I'm surprised at the flavor of most of them, but having lived here for fifteen years, I probably shouldn't be.
We'll see how the courtroom plays out. I'm gobsmacked that the cop didn't hand me a warning and send me on my way, dwillen. That's all it would've taken; I wouldn't have gone there again. I was very polite and not in the slightest offensive; again, cops don't make laws any more than magistrates, so it's pointless (not to mention counterproductive) to be assholes to them. At least the second (and third!) cops who showed up (for backup, obviously) had the grace to act a bit abashed about the whole thing.
And as would be completely expected, their three cars parked all around me, with their lights on, created way more of a problem for the bus traffic than I did.
If it turns out that the fine would be the same for a car going on the busway, I don't think you would have much of a leg to stand on.
Now, if the cop really stated that "it was too dangerous because of the lack of sidewalks", that just displays boneheadedness and lack of understanding on the part of the cop. He could have simply told you it is a restricted access road. Unfortunately that wouldn't help your case any either.
You could try saying you didn't see the sign, or that you're really sorry, that seems to work for drivers who run over and kill people.
I'm sure that the fine is the same for a car or person or whatever on the busway. Maybe they give people slack for ignorance? Because I know an acquaintance who accidently turned onto the busway once. Immediately swarmed, but was allowed to simply exit. No harm, no ticket.
I'm no lawyer, but I think your fine max's out at $10 for a bike offense.
http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms/vehicle_code/chapter35.pdf
In the pedalcycle sub chapter:
3501. Applicability of traffic laws to pedalcycles.
(a) General rule.--Every person riding a pedalcycle upon a roadway shall be granted all of the rights and shall be subject to all of the duties applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this title, except as to special provisions in this subchapter and except as to those provisions of this title which by their nature can have no application.
(b) Application of subchapter.--The provisions of this subchapter apply whenever a pedalcycle is operated upon any highway or upon any path set aside for the exclusive use of pedalcycles subject to the exceptions stated in subsection
§ 3502. Penalty for violation of subchapter.
Any person violating any provision of this subchapter is guilty of a summary offense and shall, upon conviction, be sentenced to pay a fine of $10.
But only the helmet sections seem to cap "penalties, assessments and court costs" which may be killing you.
Blaming reactions to the situation in general on
"Pittsburgh" has you come off as an entitled person,
rather than a reasonable one. I would try to avoid
that in court.
When the Port Authority went on strike in the early
90's we rode our bmx bikes all over the bus ways.
As a 12 year old kid, I knew what I was doing was
super illegal and could have gotten me in lots of
trouble. And I was the type of kid who went to
jail.
Im going to smoke a bunch of weed in front of cops
cause I SHOULD be able to, I mean you can in
California! Freaking Pittsburgh!
Im going to go 80 tomorrow in the 55mph sections
of the turnpike cause the speed limit in Arizona
and I have driven all over the country... and
that is how it should be here! Freaking PA!
Finally,
I would not want to be on the busway when an empty us is heading back to the garage and the driver is doing 80mph and smoking and texting and looking out for cyclists less than when he is
on the road (which is 0)
Im going to sound like more of a jerk, but for
the 250 dollars and hours you have put into this
and will put into this, you might have had the
energy to start a campaign of some sort to at
least make the Port Authority know that cyclists
may desire to use their busways.
Yeah... I'd say you got off easy. $240 is much better than getting creamed by a friggin' bus.
Yeah... I'd say you got off easy. $240 is much better than getting creamed by a friggin' bus.
I bet you'd be out $2400 at the very least had you been hit.
It's flat, clean, no traffic...PERFECT!
Yeah. That's cause they only let buses on it.
Then they wrote me a ticket? WTF? A TICKET? I'm not even in a CAR!
Entitled much?
so is it official then that we can't ride in bus LANES in the city? i have done this from the birmingham bridge up 5th towards oakland
Were they PAT cops or city cops? Curious about that, since one can't report PAT offenses to the city. Also, FWIW, it would be nice to see the European model of bus lanes being shared as bike lanes implemented here.
Yeah it's illegal to ride bus lanes. I think that's fair. They're meant to be express after all. If they won't allow cars, why allow something even slower?
so is it official then that we can't ride in bus LANES in the city? i have done this from the birmingham bridge up 5th towards oakland
Yeah, this is technically illegal. Riding on the sidewalk on that stretch, however, is perfectly legal. There are several older threads about the parked cars on the sidewalk by the auto dealer and day car center, and the city is aware of this problem.
I ride the sidewalk home from work every day without a problem.
I have to say that I am not surprised that someone decided to try to bike on the busway. It was just a matter of time. Sorry it was you, st.ryder who got pegged with the huge ticket. But, it was going to happen. The busways are just too tempting to a cyclist. I think the bike community owes you a little bit of a thank you for reminding us that yours is not an experience any of us want to repeat. So, we'll remember to stay off the busways, no matter how tempting they are. I wonder what the ticket for riding (or driving) in a bus lane is? Not something I want to find out for myself, I am sure. For the record, the ticket for parking on a sidewalk runs just over $70. That's a ticket I'd like to see issued more often.
Another point of this issue, to me at least, is that it raises once again the demand for a decent South Hills bike path. Whether that's a trail, a decent sidewalk or bike lane is up to debate, but I think the demand is there, and frankly I don't blame someone for attempting a South Busway bike trek regardless of the legality.
I think the point the OP was also trying to make is that in many other cities, especially most in Europe, bus lanes are actually open to bike traffic. Private busways are probably a different matter, but I have the assumption that many busways worldwide have nearby parallel bike paths, which of course is lacking in Pittsburgh.
wabash tunnel...
I'm not sure I like the idea of a shared bus lane. Imagine how often the bus would have to pull into the other lane if commuters were using all the bus lanes. Imagine if there was an opposing bus and a bike in front of the bus trying to pass.
Now if there was a parallel bike lane, that would be cool
I agree with Pierce, i dont even like being on the streets in town with the busses, the idea of being on a the busway when I know the busses are doing 70... no thanks.
but a bike trail/lane that ran the same route would be a good idea.
Should have thrown your four-ways on dude. Seems like that's all the more official you need to be to drive the East Busway…(unless there are some other official markings I should be looking for)
I was on the airport bus out yesterday morning and back in the evening. Cops out both times. I think you got caught in an enforcement sweep.
That said, riding a bike on the busway seems kind of dumb, for safety reasons. Like playing on railway tracks.
Busways are private roads; the whole point is to let buses bypass traffic (intersections, cars, bikes, etc) and to move people more efficiently. These are not "streets" even though they might look like them. By your logic, dirt bikers and ATV people should be allowed to use bike trails. And where would that leave us?
Anyway, hope your judge is having a good day...
while i think you deserve a ticket, $240 is steep. they do those stings on cars not yielding to pedestrians, and they don't fine them that much. i think that's only $100
with that said, if they do charge you the $240, it should go toward the fund to outfit all the buses with bike racks
I wonder if the fine is so steep because it includes something for trespassing, not just traffic violation? Might explain why it seems so disproportionately high...
When I was a messenger back in '93 I got 2 tickets on my bicycle that year. 1 was for riding in the buslane downtown and the other was for running a red light on the BOA, if my swiss cheese-like-memory serves me I believe the fine for both was $90.
BD, the PDF you linked to suggests that the $10 fine only applies to violations of the bike-specific laws outlined in that subchapter. Any other traffic offenses would be at the going rate.
(Caveat: I'm not a lawyer either.)
The last time I got a speeding ticket (on I-80 ten years ago) the fine was only part of it. In addition to the fine for the offense, there were all sorts of fees tacked on to the ticket which made it much more expensive than the fine itself. They went to things like EMS services etc. Maybe that's part of it.
The other day my husband got a $25 parking ticket that had $30 in "fees" so the total was $55. No explanation as to what the "fees" were for. And then I paid online which was another couple of bucks for a "convenience fee".
If my brain wasn't so jarred by riding over potholes, I might be able to figure this out.
The citation should clearly list the violation code, the cost of the fine, and all the fees. This should then be totaled near the bottom of the ticket.
If the ticket was not properly written up with this information it could be dismissed in court as a technicality.
Four or five times, I've waited late at night for an inbound bus at Central, which is only 800 feet from the South Bank station. South Bank is both a busway and T station, so has much better service. You can wait a long time for a bus at Central.
A couple of observations:
a) It's not the buses you need to worry about killing you, it's the maintenance and police vehicles, which often do 75+.
b) Port Authority probably could put a trail alongside the South Busway, if they had an extra million or two. Consult your local newspapers for the latest on that story.
c) If I'd've been caught walking that 800 feet on the mainline busway, I probably would be looking at the same fine, or something similar. Every stop has a "No Trespassing" sign.
What I'm curious about is how much of that $240 does Port Authority pocket, and how much of it gets diverted into umpteen administrative accounts.
@Mr. D - Yeah, I'm not sure either, but the first part of the bike subchapter says bikes are vehicles and have to obey every other vehicle law, thus pulling every other vehicle law into that subchapter. Maybe.
@Stu - It's a moot point, but wouldn't putting in a bike lane be from the well funded capital bucket and not the depleted operating one? As in there is plenty of cash to dig a tunnel under your favorite river, lay some track, and build a few stations, but if you try to get an extra bus trip out to your neighborhood the fuel and driver salary will break the bank.
question: am I legally required to carry a state issued ID while riding my bike on city roads? never thought about this...
Maggie, no more than you are required to carry state id to walk on the sidewalk. We're not a police state yet.
However, if you violate a law and the police would like to issue you a summons, they may take you into custody if they can't verify your identity.
@bd: Stimulus funds were used for the connector, and apparently some people think the project is a waste of those funds.
@Maggie (in response to your question about carrying id...): only in Arizona.
Im in Madison, Wisconsin right now. The main street is only for bikes, busses, and authorized vehicles. It's amazing.
They also have a free rentals and a bike share program, but more about that in another thread when I get back.
would like to seethe East and West Busways open to cyclistsYes, it's a typo. But I like it... But seriously. The busways are limited access for a reason. Limited access makes a lot of sense. It gives us interstates, but it also gives us bike trails. The rest we share. I'm ok with that and you should be too.
