Cyclists are still waiting for the TTC to restore bike racks to its new buses, after they were removed due to driver visibility problems.

TTC buses are equipped with bike racks mounted to the front, allowing cyclists to ride the bus without dragging their bike up the steps and inside, where it’ll get in the way of other passengers.

When the first of the 153 articulated buses that bend in the middle hit the road just over a year ago, they also had racks. But they were later taken out of use on new buses, which has many bike riders wondering why.

Cindy Loch-Drake, an instructor at York University, emailed to say she rides the Bathurst St. bus to work and cycles home but is disappointed by the lack of racks on the new Bathurst route buses.

Taking a bike on the bus, she says, “allows me to sit comfortably and prep for class on the way. It also allows me to arrive without working up a sweat and get a good 45-minute bike workout by riding home after work. Finally, this reduces my commuting costs and my carbon footprint, as well as crowding on the TTC in rush-hour.”

But on Monday she discovered “the new longer buses do not have bike racks. One driver told me to wait for a regular bus with a rack, but those buses are becoming rare . . . A driver of a longer bus allowed me to put my bike in the bus. This is tricky because I get dirty leaning up against my bike and it’s difficult for others to squeeze by me. I also can’t use my bus time constructively to prep for class (so) it looks like I will have to abandon this excellent commuting strategy.”

We checked and found out that the Ministry of Labour ordered the TTC to stop using the racks on new buses last year, after drivers reported sight line problems caused by bikes attached to them.

STATUS: We asked the TTC if and when bike racks will be restored to the new buses. Spokesperson Danny Nicholson said its engineers continue to work on a solution that removes bikes from driver sight lines, and that it is committed to providing racks on all 1,850 buses in its fleet. It expects to have it figured out by summer, he said, adding drivers have been told to allow cyclists to bring their bikes onto the bus, unless it’s packed.