GO Transit commuters are growing increasingly frustrated with both the transit operator and food delivery services due to continued crush crowds of food delivery bike couriers clogging up trains.

The issue of food delivery bikes taking up space on GO trains has been generating discussion on social media for years, though some commuters have noted that the problem appears to have made the leap from inconvenience to serious safety hazard.

On any given day, trains on GO's Kitchener line are packed like sardines with a mix of passengers and an ever-increasing presence of food delivery couriers.

Countless couriers working for food delivery services like Uber Eats and Doordash are commuting to and from Toronto to serve the city's insatiable appetite for convenience, while residing in outer-GTA municipalities where the cost of living is lower.

These conditions have led to overcrowded GO trains with no obvious solution in sight, and things have gotten so bad that people are now concerned for their safety.

@GOtransit can you please explain how we’re all supposed to evacuate this car on the Kitchener Line if a fire or emergency happens? Bikes everywhere and people are trapped in the middle of the coach pic.twitter.com/UZpUHOhmIk

— WB62 (@WBMetro62) February 10, 2024

According to GO's website, "a maximum of two bikes can be stored in each of the Designated Bicycle Zones" onboard standard coaches, while designated bike coaches are equipped with racks and space for at least 54 bikes.

However, recent photos of bike coaches show these spaces far exceeding that figure.

Yep. Feb 2. Bike carriage completely packed. 10:30am Union Arrival

Imagine if there was a battery fire or emergency evacuation. The exits are blocked. pic.twitter.com/hWF1vsdred

— winkyj 詹詠琪🍊 (@winkyj) February 10, 2024

GO has responded to complaints on social media, though their requests for train information and times indicate that whoever is handling comments on X might not fully appreciate that this is an everyday occurrence.

3412 09:49 Mount Pleasant-Union 10:36, I’m sure you already have data on it but it’s not just this trip, it’s most Kitchener line departures every day

— WB62 (@WBMetro62) February 10, 2024

Some argue that — like non-cycling GO train passengers — these food delivery drivers are merely commuting to and from work and are not the ones at fault in this equation.

Are they not the same as everyone else who use the train to go to work?

— esc.ape (@edwinTOR416) January 30, 2024

There have been calls for free bike parking, and even comments suggesting food delivery services provide their workers with bike storage in the city, though this may not be a viable fix for couriers who use their bikes to commute home from GO stations.

These people also need their bikes to get home in Brampton, so parking them at Union won’t be an option for most of them

— WB62 (@WBMetro62) February 10, 2024

X user and transit commentator William (WB21), who shared images of a packed Kitchener Line train this week, tells blogTO that these conditions pose the question of "how difficult it would be to evacuate the train if a fire broke out."

He says that "some people have noted that there are multiple window exits, but those would be equally difficult to access because of the bikes, and jumping out a top floor window shouldn't be the only option." 

William also notes that people are prone to panic during emergencies and observes that "with obstacles like bikes blocking all doors and emergency tools, like first aid kits and fire extinguishers, it will just cause people to panic more and possibly get injured or stuck in certain sections of the coaches trying to evacuate."

The only viable options to ease overcrowding in the near term appear to be Metrolinx investing in additional (and costly) GO bike carriages or for Toronto to shake off its addiction to convenient meal delivery.

Fortunately, improvements are on the way.

William stresses that, with a significant capacity increase of Kitchener Line service in the works, "this bike problem will likely not be an issue in the future."

Still, he acknowledges that "a solution needs to be found for the interim; because their current solution (placing bike coaches on multiple Kitchener Line trains) to try and tackle the bike problem isn't working."