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 your bike in February and March in Northwest Indiana,” NICTD President and General Manager Michael Noland said.
“Lots of commuters have bikes, but also our off-peak is really surging,” Barker said.
High-level platforms, no longer requiring bikes to be hauled up steps to get aboard trains, help provide easy access to trains and reduce the time to get on board.
Gary Public Transportation Corp. buses with racks for bikes also make it easier to get to the trains, Barker said.
Overall ridership on the South Shore Line is up significantly, too. Average ridership is up 17.9% compared to 2024, even with the 10% fare increase that went into effect July 1. It was the first fare increase since 2017, Noland noted.
“We were very curious to see what would happen after we implemented this increase in prices,” Noland said.
With the fare increase, Nolan had expected to lose some riders, he said.
Weekend ridership is showing the biggest growth, at 24% over last year, according to Barker’s statistics.
Ridership is still way down from 2019, a 38.7% drop, but that was just before the COVID-19 pandemic scrambled everything.
Employers ordering workers to return to work, meaning not working from home, has helped boost ridership, Barker said.
So has planning for special events, including extra trains for Lollapalooza. My Chemical Romance drew 537 additional riders, Barker said, with System of a Down down a bit from that total at 384. The Lumineers was next, with 278, followed by Oasis, with 204.
“I think folks are getting over the PTSD of the busing” during construction of the Double Track NWI project between Michigan City and Gary, Barker said. When construction was completed last year, the extra set of tracks meant trains could go in either direction, so more trains were added.
Doug Ross is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.