Bikes on trains growing in popularity as ridership rises

Bike riders are taking to the steel wheels in record numbers, riding the South Shore Line with their bikes on board.

In August, 1,732 riders took their bikes with them, Director of Capital Investment and Implementation Nicole Barker told the Northern Indiana Commuter Transportation District board Monday.

That’s more in one month than in all of 2016, 2017 and 2020.

“I had to count it twice to make sure August was right,” Barker said.

A total of 6,114 bikes were on the trains in the first eight months of this year, nearly as many as in all of 2024, by far the highest previous yearly total.

It’s not just a summer phenomenon, either. There were 178 bikes on trains in January, 302 in February and 517 in March.

“There’s some hardy bike riders out there. You’ve got to be committed to ride y