Workshop TR 5.4, Wednesday 21 June, 16.00 - 17.30
New bicycle parking concepts: their relevance for bicycle use
Alex Sully, County Cycling Officer, Somerset County Council, UK  

Electronically Controlled Cycle Parking - A Valuable Component Of Bike And Ride?
Ghent Railway Station - A Case Study

This paper builds on two previous ones by the author; the first presented at Velo Borealis in 1998 and the second at Velo City 99. The former set out principles of best practice of cycle parking at railway stations across Europe. The latter examined the opportunity presented by the integration of electronic control of cycle parking and electronic ticketing as a way of increasing the use of bicycles as a feeder to public transport systems.

The paper examines the experience of a rail operator which has introduced an electronic cycle parking system at a number of stations including Ghent in Belgium, the manufacturer of the system and, of course the customer.

Comparisons are made with conventional parking facilities and conclusions drawn about the value of this type of parking operation based upon the customer satisfaction survey undertaken by the rail operator and previously defined principles of best practice.
Willem Mulder (traffic engineer), Municipality of Apeldoorn, the Netherlands

The success of free guarded bicycle parking in the city of Apeldoorn

Since 1998 guarded bicycle parking in the city centre of Apeldoorn is free. The first year of the free guarded bicycle parking was an experiment. The city counsellors stated that the experiment would only be converted into a continuos measurement if the usage of the guarded bicycle places would increase with 30 % in one year. After one year it turned out that the usage of the guarded bicycle place increased with a solid 70 %.

For this project the following goals were set :
  • to offer a more interesting alternative for car users;
  • to reduce bicycle theft;
  • to reduce the number of car drivers who drive a car under the influence of alcohol
  • to reduce the hindrance of unorganised parked bicycle all over the city centre.

In the city centre 4 guarded locations were designated with a capacity of 1444 places. All four locations are carefully matched to the main cycle routes to the city centre.

The experiment was supported by a extensive publicity campaign to inform all inhabitants and visitors of Apeldoorn. After one year the results of the experiment have been evaluated.

This paper will describe the outcomes of the evaluation, how the free bicycle parking is organised and which hurdles had to be taken. The free guarded bicycle facilities have been proven to be very successful on all set goals.