Europe and Japan

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In Japan and many European countries, bike-and-ride is a major — in some cities the predominant —commuting mode. The use of bicycles as a “feeder” mode to transit, with convenient bicycle access to transit stops, helps railways in those countries compete with automobiles and maintain a high share of overall trips.

Japanese train stations and office centers have constructed above- and below-ground automated bicycle garages.

In Japan, an estimated 3 million bicycles are parked daily at rail stations, five times the volume in 1975, and several times greater than the number of commuter cars. [6] The share of Dutch rail passengers who cycle to stations ranges from 23% in the four largest cities, to 42% at inter-regional stations and 44% for local stations. [7] Moreover, between 5% and 12% of Netherlands rail passengers use another bicycle parked at the second station to reach their destination — a “ride-park-and-ride” combination that is particularly unsuited for automobiles, since it would require the expense of keeping a second car at the station. About 25 to 30 percent of passengers arriving at commuter rail stations in Denmark use a bicycle at the home end, as do 2-5% of passengers at the workplace end. [8] European bike-and-ride commuting generally has grown in the 1980s and early 1990s, especially in Germany, where investment in facilities began later than in Denmark or the Netherlands. [9]

In Japan, increased cycling to train stations in the 1970s led to national and local laws requiring parking facilities near rail stops, beginning in 1973. By the early 1980s, over a dozen Japanese companies were specializing in manufacturing and installing bicycle storage facilities. These ranged from simple racks set in pavement to high-rise and underground automated garages. The average bicycle parking facility at Japanese rail stations hold more than 275 bicycles, and there are 55 bicycle parking garages holding over 2,000 bicycles each — accounting for 6 percent of nationwide total parking. [10] Facilities are owned and managed by both private- and public-sector groups, including railroad companies. Most stations offer paid parking near the station and free facilities a little farther off.

European rail station bike parking was also driven by demand. With long traditions of cycle use, bike-rail transportation continued during the post-war period, despite a decline in overall cycling. In the early 1960s, as bike thefts began rising, pressure from bicycle commuters led to more station parking facilities.

In the Netherlands, the national government reinforced this trend by explicitly recognizing the environmental harms of auto dependence and the desirability of promoting alternatives (see sidebar). Secure bike parking at stations increased markedly in the mid-1970s, spurred by energy policy shifts which led to rail station redesign, improved bicycle access by the Dutch National Railway, and strong federal support for bicycle facility development. The new facilities encouraged further growth in bike-and-ride commuting. Development of bike-and-ride in Denmark and West Germany followed a similar pattern, although with less federal support in Germany. [11]

Rail Station Bike Parking in the Netherlands Bicycle parking is available at every Dutch railway station, and far outranks car parking. In this country of 12.5 million people, Dutch National Railway alone maintains almost 200,000 bicycle parking spaces, and private operators maintain thousands more. Stations typically provide one bicycle space for every 2-3 daily boardings: train stations with over 5,000 boardings per day average 2,000 guarded bicycle parking spaces (with check tags), vs. only 200-250 spaces for autos. Stations with two to five thousand daily boardings average 800 guarded bike spaces, as well as 400 unguarded spaces on roofs or in the open.
	Bicycle lockers at train station, Amsterdam. Anne Hansen.
Bicycle repair and rental services are also widely available at train stations, and lockers are provided at smaller stations where it might be too costly to hire guards. Increasingly, Dutch rail stations are installing new guarded bicycle parking garages under the stations to maintain close proximity and conserve land. According to the Dutch National Railway, even expensive underground bicycle parking costs less than one-tenth as much per space as car parking. Bike parking charges, around 75¢ per day, cover 40% of operating costs. Source: Michael Replogle and Harriet Parcells, Linking Bicycle/ Pedestrian Facilities with Transit, prepared for U.S. Federal Highway Administration, Sept. 1992, p. 3.

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