TARC's Bike Rack Rap Promotes Usage

Louisville, KY – TARC (Transit Authority of River City) wants riders to take advantage of the bike racks mounted on their buses, so they have created a “how-to” video that puts the message to music.

The music video is performed by Mr. Theo, a TARC employee. He is accompanied by the TARCettes, a quartet of talented TARC bus operators. Use a Bike Rack! is a sixty second video that encourages riders to use the racks, and offers instructions in how they operate. The video can be seen at www.ridetarc.org.

“We wanted to find a fun way to tell the community about our bike racks, and offer instruction in how they work. They are really easy to use, and the rap video makes that obvious,” explains Nina Walfoort, the Director of Marketing and Planning for TARC. “The fact that we have such talented and fun-loving employees and family members made the video possible.”

Combining bike travel with a TARC ride is an economical and ecologically sound way to navigate the city. The bike racks installed on TARC’s buses make it easy and efficient. The use of TARC’s bike racks has more than doubled in the last five years. In 2002, when all TARC buses became bike rack equipped, there were 47,778 users. In 2007, TARC had 107,475 users. TARC is now seeing an average of about 10,000 riders using its bike racks each month.

A recent survey of 180 TARC bike rack users showed that 65 percent of them are traveling to or from work. Most users ride their bikes and take TARC daily (58%), with 52% not having a car and using TARC as their main mode of transportation. Even though the majority of users of the bike racks are men, it is a simple and easy procedure for women and young riders — as the video demonstrates.

To view TARC’s Bike Rap Video visit www.ridetarc.org and click on the bike rap icon.