Less that 1% of the licenced bikes in the UK are able to park in a designated space in a council car park. Research by motorcycle insurance broker Bikesure has revealed that out of just over a million parking spaces across the UK, only 4241 are motorcycle-specific, able to accommodate just over 11,000 bikes.

Of course, not all of us want to park at the same time, but motorcycles are clearly under-provided for compared to cars – seven bike spaces for every 1000 machines, against 30 for every 1000 cars. Bikesure also looked at how individual authorities were catering for bikes, by counting the number of motorcycle spaces compared to the number of bikes registered in each area. Stratford upon Avon District Council came out well (with 159 motorcycle spaces) while the City of London, reflecting the high use of two-wheelers in the capital, reserves 6.72% of its spaces for bikes (against 0.7% nationally). The South West topped the regions for bike spaces, with Yorkshire and The Humber at the bottom of the list.

Bike parking can certainly be a lottery. One BMF member found that in Louth, Lincolnshire, bikes are permitted to use car spaces for free, yet over the border in Derbyshire, at least one car park insists that motorcyclists pay.

Jim Freeman, chair of the BMF said, “Parking for bikes has been an issue for years, the BMF were a leading supporter of the ‘NO to the Bike parking tax’ campaign against Westminster Council over a decade ago . The campaign lost in the short term, but the effect on the consortium of local authorities behind Westminster was important over the longer term. Only recently have local authorities returned to attempting to radically monetise bike parking in areas like Hackney, Camden and Bath, with ongoing legal actions ensuing. One effect, it has been argued, is that there is little incentive for councils to provide more than the bare minimum when they can get a much higher return using the same space for cars. Motorcycles should be seen in the same light as bicycles, as a much greener alternative to cars, deserving support with Bike friendly parking policies.”

Written by Peter Henshaw

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