Thieves have routinely broken into LA Metro bike lockers placed at train stations, stealing bicycles and ransacking the personal contents stored inside and prompting the transit agency to consider scrapping the program.

In addition, bike hubs also have been broken into by thieves who’ve jimmied the locks on the building doors and stolen the bicycles secured inside during night hours, reads a critical report from the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Department of Parking Management, which calls for a complete overhaul of the bike storage program.

As an alternative, Metro staff is recommending removing and replacing the lockers with larger digital docking rack systems at five stations by July, soon expanding to 10 stations, according to the report, presented to Metro’s Operations, Safety and Customer Experience Committee Thursday.

Carlos Velasquez waits with his bike to board a train at LA Metro Red Line subway in North Hollywood on Thursday, February 21, 2019 as he heads to his home in Korea Town. Carlos says he never uses the lockers and keeps his bike with him. There are 140 people on a wait list for the bike lockers at the station. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

There are 140 people on a wait list for the bike lockers at the LA Metro Red Line subway in North Hollywood on Thursday, February 21, 2019. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

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There are 140 people on a wait list for the bike lockers at the LA Metro Red Line subway in North Hollywood on Thursday, February 21, 2019. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)

Terence Fredericks, of North Hollywood, waits to enter a train with his bike at the LA Metro Red Line subway in North Hollywood as he heads to work in Hollywood on Thursday, February 21, 2019. Fredericks says the one time he locked his bike at the station his handle bars were stolen. There are 140 people on a wait list for the bike lockers at the station. (Photo by Sarah Reingewirtz, Pasadena Star-News/SCNG)



The digital docking system could lock and unlock bicycles at a multi-space rack using a smartphone, similar to the bikeshare system. Also, Metro is considering creating bicycle and scooter parking pens accessible only to TAP-card holding transit riders.

Wes Reutimann of Active SGV, an alternative transportation advocacy group based in El Monte, says that in the last year, people have been “losing their bikes,” after locker break-ins, and that the group has shared their concerns with Metro.

Lockers used year-round

LA Metro provides the following bike storage options:

Traditional bike racks. Bike owners provide their own locks. Available first-come, first-served. Free. Bike Lockers. At 53 stations. $24 every six months; $48 per year. Users provided a key. Long waiting lists. Bike Hubs. Indoor facilities where bicycle parking is offered for a fee. From $5 for a seven-day pass; $12 a month; $60 a year.

Although the bike hubs, located at Union Station, El Monte Bus Station and the Red Line’s Hollywood and Vine Station, are billed as the most secure option for those riding their own bicycles to a train or bus station, the report points out thefts at those facilities as well.

Metro staff also reported an ironic fact: Although the locker rental rate hovers near 80 percent, only 20 percent are actually used during peak times, while the rest remain empty.

That means most of the rented lockers are not being used for their correct purpose, which is to encourage transit riders to leave their cars at home and ride a bicycle to the station, lock it in a secure space, then ride the bicycle the last mile home from the station.

Instead, most lockers are used for long-time storage of bicycles and other items, defeating the purpose of reducing air pollution emissions stemming from driving and also from ride-hailing services.

Because locker renters are charged just twice a year, they hold on to the lockers or forget they’ve even signed up, creating lengthy waiting lists.

The Expo Line, which runs from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica, has 136 lockers with 569 people on the waitlist. On the Gold Line from East L.A. to Pasadena and easterly to Azusa, there’s a waitlist of 279 for the 220 lockers scattered at various stations. The APU/Citrus station in Azusa has twice as many on the waitlist than the number of lockers.

“We found a lot of people don’t bother signing up any more,” Reutimann said.

The use of lockers for long-term storage has attracted thieves, who raid them after midnight and on weekends, the report says. Several lockers at the Memorial Park Gold Line Station in Old Pasadena have flimsy, plywood backs, some hanging by a few screws — making it easy for thieves to break in.

Even after adding more security elements, the lockers again were compromised, the report found.

By allowing patrons to rent lockers for a year, it promotes the wrong type of use, the report says.

“There are questions about the length of use of those lockers,” said Los Angeles County Supervisor and MTA board member Hilda Solis during the committee meeting. “Some people are keeping them longer and putting other items in there.”

An hourly or day-use

Metro, taking a cue from the Bay Area Rapid Transit System, recommends doing away with the bi-monthly rental system and converting to short-time rentals, in which people are charged an hourly or a day-long maximum fee.

This may promote more locker turnover and reduce waiting lists.

The parking department will be reaching out to the bicycle community and bringing a more definitive list of recommendations to the committee and then the governing board in about six months, said Shannon Hamelin, senior director for parking management.