Starting Saturday, April 25th, 2009, all GO Transit buses will be equipped with racks that can carry two bicycles. This means that you can take your bike with you on any GO bus at any time of day, without any additional cost.

Bike racks were first installed on GO buses in August 2008, starting with buses serving the QEW Express (Union to Hamilton) corridor and the Hamilton to Aldershot corridor. It's great to see that this project has been expanded to the whole system!

I've had the opportunity to use the GO bike racks several times now when traveling between Toronto and Hamilton. It's honestly a little bit nerve-wracking when you first put your bike on the front of a bus that's about to hurtle down the QEW at 100km/h, but the system works well and I'm confident enough to keep using it.

I'm looking forward to many other opportunities to use this. It doesn't help me much on my own commute (Dundas West station to Square One), but I have already been scheming to try other trips. Everything from getting around the GTA faster/easier, to using the GO system as a launch pad for weekend bike tours:

• Take the GO bus downtown after work for events if I don't have the time to cycle
• Save time and local transit fare by riding to and from GO stations
• Take the GO bus from Hamilton to work in Mississauga after spending a weekend visiting my parents
• Bring my bike on GO buses during "off-peak" times when buses replace the trains
• Take a Saturday morning bus to Barrie and ride to Wasaga Beach, Orillia, Sibbald Point, etc.

Check www.bikesandtransit.com for some other good recreational suggestions.

[img_assist|nid=3009|title=Bikes on a GO Bus|desc=Carrying our bikes back from Hamilton on the GO bus last September|link=node|align=right|width=338|height=450]
Though still far from perfect, GO Transit has been making some progress with making life easier and more accessible for cyclists. In the last couple of years, GO has:

• Allowed folding bikes on rush-hour trains
• Introduced bike racks on all buses
• Improved bike parking at stations by installing more bike racks, bike lockers, and covered bike parking shelters
• Started working with local municipalities to improve cyclist and pedestrian access to their stations

Let's hope that GO continues to improve their service for cyclists. I'd love to see bikes allowed on all trains at all times of day, continued improvements in bike parking at stations, and more promotion of cycling as the ideal way to get to and from the GO system rather than driving.

Make sure you contact GO to thank them for their existing bike-friendly service, and to continue nudging them towards even more cycling improvements.

More information about bikes on GO can be found here.