Port Authority Reverses Policy Banning E-Bikes On The T, Mon Incline
By: KDKA-TV News Staff
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - The Port Authority will allow electric bicycles inside the T and the Mon Incline beginning Wednesday.
Many e-bike riders were confused and upset after learning about the policy -- which the Port Authority says has been longstanding -- from a tweet.
Correction: electric bicycles are not permitted inside LRVs or the incline. Our operations and safety divisions have deemed them to be a potential fire hazard due to their lithium-ion batteries. https://t.co/0gLamZhG5p
— Port Authority PGH (@PGHtransit) August 20, 2021
The Port Authority points to the e-bikes' lithium-ion batteries as the reasoning behind the ban, saying they could explode and cause fires. Port Authority CEO Katharine Kelleman said in a news release Monday that since the policy was created, e-bikes "have come a long way" and there have been very few incidents with e-bikes inside public transit vehicles.
After chatting with @BikePGH we have reversed our longstanding policy on battery-powered bicycles or e-bikes. They will be permitted inside light rail vehicles and the Monongahela Incline as part of a six-month pilot beginning Wednesday, September 1: https://t.co/4727cTRSNG
— Port Authority PGH (@PGHtransit) August 30, 2021
Now starting on Sept. 1, battery-powered bicycles will be allowed inside light rail vehicles when riders are traveling south of First Avenue Station.
They'll also be allowed inside the Mon incline and light rail vehicles when traveling within the Central Business District on a six-month pilot. If nothing happens during that time, the Port Authority says that change will become permanent.