bikes in the drive-thru lane

I have been able to pull up to the B.K. drive-thru and get a couple burgers on the way home from a late ride...no problem. The McDonalds at Elston and Irving park also served me on my Bike many times.

But last night, I was refused service at McDonalds,Wendys and Burger King, at the Drive-tru.

At one of the places, there was a sign/sticker by the window that read "no walk-up orders take"...but I didn't walk up...I rode my bicycle.

Maybe it's all for the best that I not eat at these places, but at this point it feels like i'm being discriminated against for my mode of transportation.

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Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on August 2, 2012 at 10:38am

I've asked this question before at CVS drive up at Lawrence and Damen. They say something about insurance.

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Permalink Reply by Julie Aberman (Hochstadter) on August 2, 2012 at 10:38am

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Chris C said:

Give Chick-Fil-A a go. I'm sure they're open-minded about that sort of thing.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 2, 2012 at 10:59am

When I've faced this situation, I've always gotten a line about insurance liability issues.

This has included bank drive-up windows. At the other end of the spectrum, when I lived in Rogers Park, I used the bank drive-up ATM at the big downtown Evanston Chase location. More than once, there was an Evanston bike cop using the next lane.

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 2, 2012 at 11:39am

I've had this problem on a motorcycle even. They usually claim the "insurance" issues or just that it is "policy."

My policy is to never darken their drive-through or their regular doorstep again. Never had the issue at a bank because I hate drive-through banking.

You are right, though, in being better off. Any "food" you can order through a drive-through window is probably not going to be that great for your health.

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Permalink Reply by Omar Lopez on August 2, 2012 at 12:04pm

defiantly, we shall walk the bikes inside to order food.

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Permalink Reply by Bike Bloke on August 2, 2012 at 12:07pm

Idiots! Do they want your business or not? I've never had any problem using the drive up, er, sorry - ride up facilities at Chase Bank branches. On the contrary, the tellers seem to appreciate the minor break in their monotonous jobs.

Personally I think that drive up windows are an awful waste of urban space and should not be allowed by zoning committees. They encourage needless driving and pander to the lazy. However, they represent a significant time advantage to cyclists if they don't have to lock up and remove bags and anything readily removable from their bikes before getting down to business. So, I (lightheartedly, of course) propose that drive ups be zoned out for motor vehicles and the lanes narrowed so that only bikes can use them.

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Permalink Reply by Duppie on August 2, 2012 at 12:11pm

There is this bank chain (PNC?) that is currently building across Chicago and advertising it as green branches, likely to take advantage of an expedited permit process. Yet they invariably have a drive thru lane with at least two separate curb-cuts.

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on August 2, 2012 at 3:25pm

Drive-ups cause a LOT of accidents. There's an intersection near my house with multiple drive-ups (Taco Bell, Burger King AND McDonalds, plus a Walgreens with multiple curb cuts) that's a disaster during the hours when all those businesses are open.

Bike Bloke said:

Idiots! Do they want your business or not? I've never had any problem using the drive up, er, sorry - ride up facilities at Chase Bank branches. On the contrary, the tellers seem to appreciate the minor break in their monotonous jobs.

Personally I think that drive up windows are an awful waste of urban space and should not be allowed by zoning committees. They encourage needless driving and pander to the lazy. However, they represent a significant time advantage to cyclists if they don't have to lock up and remove bags and anything readily removable from their bikes before getting down to business. So, I (lightheartedly, of course) propose that drive ups be zoned out for motor vehicles and the lanes narrowed so that only bikes can use them.

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Permalink Reply by Thunder Snow on August 2, 2012 at 11:53pm

Hello:

Thank you for taking the time to contact McDonald's.
We apologize for your disappointment on a recent visit to McDonald's. You may be interested to know that McDonald's values the safety of our customers. As such, for safety reasons, McDonald's policy states that customers who walk up or arrive on bicycles to the Drive-thru windows should not be served at the windows. This policy also applies to those customers who operate motorized wheelchairs or non-licensed motorized vehicles. During hours when the front counter is open, we would welcome the customer inside to have his or her order taken at the front counter.
We hope this information has been helpful. Again, thank you for contacting McDonald's. We hope to have the opportunity of serving you again soon under the Golden Arches.

Jessica

McDonald's Customer Response Center
ref#:7028410
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You wrote:

I'm curious to know if I can order at the drive-thru while on my bicycle. Last evening, I was out on my bike and I wanted a snack at a McDonald's on north Clark Street in Chicago. I hadn't thought to bring my bike lock with me, so my two options were to either bring the bicycle into the restaurant with me, which I figured no one would appreciate, or use the drive-thru. I rode up to the drive-thru menu board and waited patiently several minutes, but got no response from the order-taker. While waiting, a very impatient woman in a car behind me began screaming insults and cursing like a drunken sailor at me for being in the drive-thru, so, figuring my safety was compromised by having an insane patron behind me, I simply rode away from the restaurant without ordering my snack. Now, the road raging patron who threatened me was definitely not McDonald's problem, but I got to wondering if maybe she was correct. Is my bike too light a vehicle to trigger the "I'm here!" signal to the order-taker inside? I thought at the very least, I'd be visible in the drive-thru camera. Or are bikes prohibited in the drive-thru and the order-taker was simply waiting for me to go away? Next time, should I simply ride up to the drive-thru window and order face-to-face--though I would think this would slow down the drive-through operation, as they wouldn't be able to begin assembling the order until I had appeared at the pick-up window. Any suggestions for me?

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Permalink Reply by Far'arned Retrogrumpalunkus #63 on August 3, 2012 at 6:05am

+1 million

The abominable blight of a dumpy McDonalds on Milwaukee in Logan Square will be reborn as a DOUBLE-lane drive through soon -rules or no rules making that area of Milwaukee a "pedestrian street" which was supposed to limit driveways and ins&outs onto the road. Laws are only for the little people but Big Corporations like Mooby's^tmsimply can get the Alderman to wave these laws for them when they are inconvenient to their litter-creating/polluting/traffic-snarling/pedestrian-crushing business plans.

Seriously, when you are Big McLawer^tm you can get any law changed for YOU.

Jeff Schneider said:

I think drive-thru anything is an eyesore, a traffic hazard (think the McDonalds on Clark near Diversey) and in the case of fast food, a big source of litter (just watch the drivers unwrap their burgers and throw the trash out the window as they drive away). I try hard not to do business with any of them.