Metra has announced its schedule of public hearings on the 2005 budget at a time difficult for most people to get there. All meetings-- one for each of the collar counties and regions of Cook County--are from 4 - 7 pm on either the 3rd or the 4th of November. The 2005 budget doesn't contain any huge surprises. Except for one: despite refitting most of the cars and engines and spending $70.5 million for stations and parking, including over $8 million in new parking, not one penny is going towards letting bikes on trains. Metra's one of two commuter rail lines in the country (yes, even Texas beats us) that do not let bikes on trains. Pace gets it. The CTA gets it. When will Metra?