MBTA opens bike cages at Alewife

 CAMBRIDGE. The MBTA opened two new bike cages at Alewife station Thursday morning, a move officials hope will encourage greater ridership and take more cars off the road.

The outdoor cages, located at opposite sides of the station, include 150 spaces each for bicycles. Space will be available for free on a first-come, first-serve basis, but to gain access, riders will have to use a new Bike CharlieCard. That card, also launched Thursday, works just like a normal CharlieCard, but it allows bicyclists to enter the cages by tapping it against a sensor panel next to the cage door.

Riders can pick up the new Bike CharlieCards at either Alewife or Downtown Crossing station.

Alewife station is one of most popular for bicyclists, and MBTA officials said they hope the cages will provide a safe place for bike storage. With the T’s recent spike in ridership, more and more bikes are being chained to railings and benches nearby. The T hopes to prevent bike theft by monitoring the free cages with multiple security cameras.

“A lot of folks spend a lot of money on their equipment, and when they get back to the station from work, they want to make sure it’s safe,” T General Manager Dan Grabauskas said.

Officials from the MBTA and the city of Cambridge, along with cycling advocates, began discussing the idea of bike cages in May. Grabauskas said Thursday the T is considering adding cages at other stations but will wait to see how the Alewife cages are received.