Wednesday, October 1, 2008
San Francisco Chronicle Coverage
The Chronicle picked up the story of Scott's arrest, and talks about the Caltrain capacity issues. Read about it by clicking here.
Friday, September 26, 2008
More Info About Caltrain Biker Arrest
On Thursday, September 25th 2008, Scott Wildy boarded southbound Caltrain #226 at the Burlingame station. One cyclist had just disembarked, and Scott found an empty spot on one of the bike racks in the train car. A conflict immediately ensued when the Caltrain conductor, claiming that the bike car was full, demanded that Scott leave the train.
Scott's argument was that the rack on which he placed his bike only had three out of four spots occupied. The conductor's argument was that another rack at the other end of the train had five bikes on it, which is one over capacity. The conductor argued that this constituted a full train, based on the total capacity.
When the cyclist refused to leave the train, the conductor arranged for police to meet the train, and the cyclist was arrested at the San Carlos station. I happened to be disembarking with my bike at the same stop, and filmed the whole incident with my phone's camera.
Here is the video. Note that it's about 7 minutes long. I did not edit it down, because I didn't want to leave any gaps that would allow for speculation.
Scott's argument was that the rack on which he placed his bike only had three out of four spots occupied. The conductor's argument was that another rack at the other end of the train had five bikes on it, which is one over capacity. The conductor argued that this constituted a full train, based on the total capacity.
When the cyclist refused to leave the train, the conductor arranged for police to meet the train, and the cyclist was arrested at the San Carlos station. I happened to be disembarking with my bike at the same stop, and filmed the whole incident with my phone's camera.
Here is the video. Note that it's about 7 minutes long. I did not edit it down, because I didn't want to leave any gaps that would allow for speculation.
Letter from Scott Wildy, the arrested cyclist
The following is an email from Scott Wildy, the cyclist who was arrested in the video. He emailed me after finding the video online, and asked that I forward this on.
Thursday September 25th 2008.
Caltrain conductors arbitrarily deny boarding for scores of cyclists each day stating that the train is at its capacity for bicycles. These people who are simply trying to make their way to and from work or school, are victims of a system that is poorly designed with rules that are heavy handedly enforced. The reality is: sometimes the train is over its bike capacity and sometimes it's under; sometimes Caltrain runs a train with only 16 bicycle capacity and sometimes they run a train with capacity for 32 or 64 bikes on the exact same schedule. Caltrain conductors appear to refuse cyclists based more on their mood at the time, rather than any judgment call on safety or concern for other passengers.
On this day, Caltrain Conductor number 684 became emboldened with his sense of power and authority and ordered the arrest of a cyclist whose crime was to board the train and place his bike in the available space of a bike rack.
It was a regular morning trip to Palo Alto, on route to the office. The southbound train pulls into Burlingame station. One cyclist steps off the train with his bicycle and I immediately step into the bike car with mine. I can clearly see the empty position on the bike rack left by the disembarking cyclist and start towards the rack. Conductor 684 appears at the door and has other plans for me. Having already decided that the train is full, he orders me off the train. I protest: there is clearly a space available in the rack directly in front of me! Conductor 684 argues: the train is full b/c there is an extra bike on another rack at the other end of the car. He waves his hands saying: look at the signs - 16 bikes max. I look around the train and the only signs are the ones on the racks that say "4 bikes per rack". Further, I notice that the extra bike at the other end of the car is neatly strapped to the rack (which has 5 bungee straps anyway) and can see that he was not making any effort to have the extra bike moved up to this rack. I continue my protest: the sign on the rack says "capacity 4 bikes" and there are only 3 bikes here. The argument continued, until finally I placed my bike on the rack and took a seat.
The train continued its journey south. At San Carlos station, the police met the train and asked me to step off the train. I complied. They asked what was going on and I explained the situation. There is a palpable sense of disbelief that this is happening - that riding a train with a valid ticket, with bicycle properly strapped to the bike rack, trying to get to work requires the intervention of San Carlos Police and the San Mateo County Sheriff. A fellow cyclist passenger films the spectacle with his iphone. At this point, my commute is not looking good - my bike and bag are pulled off the train. Then my disbelief turns to shock - the sheriff grabs my wrists and clamps handcuffs on me. I'm under arrest for delaying a train. According to the sheriff, Caltrain Conductor 684 not only wanted me off the train, he requested a citizen's arrest.
The "kind" sheriff allows me to avoid the county jail and releases me with a citation, and orders to stay off the train for 24 hours. I guess I wont make it to work today. And I'll have to request another absence from work to appear in San Mateo criminal court in October. Staying off the train wont be a problem, though - after this harrowing experience I'm getting back in my gas guzzling car.
Thursday September 25th 2008.
Caltrain conductors arbitrarily deny boarding for scores of cyclists each day stating that the train is at its capacity for bicycles. These people who are simply trying to make their way to and from work or school, are victims of a system that is poorly designed with rules that are heavy handedly enforced. The reality is: sometimes the train is over its bike capacity and sometimes it's under; sometimes Caltrain runs a train with only 16 bicycle capacity and sometimes they run a train with capacity for 32 or 64 bikes on the exact same schedule. Caltrain conductors appear to refuse cyclists based more on their mood at the time, rather than any judgment call on safety or concern for other passengers.
On this day, Caltrain Conductor number 684 became emboldened with his sense of power and authority and ordered the arrest of a cyclist whose crime was to board the train and place his bike in the available space of a bike rack.
It was a regular morning trip to Palo Alto, on route to the office. The southbound train pulls into Burlingame station. One cyclist steps off the train with his bicycle and I immediately step into the bike car with mine. I can clearly see the empty position on the bike rack left by the disembarking cyclist and start towards the rack. Conductor 684 appears at the door and has other plans for me. Having already decided that the train is full, he orders me off the train. I protest: there is clearly a space available in the rack directly in front of me! Conductor 684 argues: the train is full b/c there is an extra bike on another rack at the other end of the car. He waves his hands saying: look at the signs - 16 bikes max. I look around the train and the only signs are the ones on the racks that say "4 bikes per rack". Further, I notice that the extra bike at the other end of the car is neatly strapped to the rack (which has 5 bungee straps anyway) and can see that he was not making any effort to have the extra bike moved up to this rack. I continue my protest: the sign on the rack says "capacity 4 bikes" and there are only 3 bikes here. The argument continued, until finally I placed my bike on the rack and took a seat.
The train continued its journey south. At San Carlos station, the police met the train and asked me to step off the train. I complied. They asked what was going on and I explained the situation. There is a palpable sense of disbelief that this is happening - that riding a train with a valid ticket, with bicycle properly strapped to the bike rack, trying to get to work requires the intervention of San Carlos Police and the San Mateo County Sheriff. A fellow cyclist passenger films the spectacle with his iphone. At this point, my commute is not looking good - my bike and bag are pulled off the train. Then my disbelief turns to shock - the sheriff grabs my wrists and clamps handcuffs on me. I'm under arrest for delaying a train. According to the sheriff, Caltrain Conductor 684 not only wanted me off the train, he requested a citizen's arrest.
The "kind" sheriff allows me to avoid the county jail and releases me with a citation, and orders to stay off the train for 24 hours. I guess I wont make it to work today. And I'll have to request another absence from work to appear in San Mateo criminal court in October. Staying off the train wont be a problem, though - after this harrowing experience I'm getting back in my gas guzzling car.
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