According to data posted on the Japan Bicycle Promotion Institute website (in English), there are close to 10,000 official bicycle parking lots next to Japanese train stations. The total parking capacity is over 3.6 million, though actual utilization is somewhat lower. Keep in mind that this represents bicycles used for daily transportation - not recreational or sports bikes.
Like the proverbial iceberg, the official figures only tell a tiny part of the whole story. Since the lots charge a fee for parking most people try to avoid using them leading to huge tangles of bicycles filling the sidewalks and alleys. Most of the bicycles are relatively cheap - around USD$ 100 or less on sale. As a result, it's cheaper to buy a new one if your old one gets worn out or needs any repair. In a nation where people are almost anal about upkeep on their cars, squeaky brakes, almost flat tires, and warped spokes on bicycles are commonplace. Japan imports close to 3 million bicycles/year - primarily from China and Taiwan, and produces a similar quantity domestically.
When a bicycle finally gets to the point where it would normally need significant repairs, people just leave them parked by the station, and eventually they get tagged and trucked away for scrap. As a side benefit, the station bicycle parking lots provide useful employment for what appear to be retired salarymen. They spend their days rearranging bicycles, untangling rats-nests of cycles that have been blown over by the wind, and trying to catch people that park without paying.
It's not uncommon for salarymen and students to have two bicycles for commuting - one at each end of their daily journey. They ride one from their home to the station, park it, take the train, grab their second bike at the other end of the line, and bike off to the office or class.
We have recently visited Spain and I have observed and used your automatic bicycle parks. They are fantastic and a great solution to the problem of security and protection for bicycles. Bicycles are now completely safe.
I would like to point out that with the application of the system there has been a substantial increase in number of users, an increase in the social and generational profile of the users and an improvement in the quality of the bicycles in use, with a return to cycling by former bicycle users.
I hope that this information is of use to you.
You can see it at www.biceberg.com , and obtain further information by typing in the search engine biceberg. I hope that this information is of use to you .
Best regards,
Diban Bikerson
Posted by: diban bikerson | February 01, 2006 at 04:26 AM
Sight this Diban, the system is interesting and it really improves the quality of the bicycles. This said to the nomination to the prizes index 2005
How did this design improve life?:
Biceberg encourages the use of bicycles by endorsing a parking area which provides the required convenience for bicycle users, ensuring the development of bicycles as an environmentally friendly means of transport which contributes to improving the quality of life in our cities.
The lockers are an added value, which are a means of storing any belongings we may be carrying with us. Lockers contribute to increased road security for cyclists as riding with a helmet, reflective gear or any other security accessory is not an inconvenient providing you have a safe place to keep them upon arrival.
It encourages the development of electrical bicycles, providing a safe storage area and an opportunity to recharge.
It is a means of democratizing mobility, providing greater autonomy and accessibility to all services for young people as well as the elderly
Short description:Biceberg is an underground and intelligent automatic parking area for bicycles which takes in and returns bicycles at street level and which also provides a locker area for backpacks, helmets and other accessories.
Biceberg offers users 100% guarantee against theft of bicycles and accessories, rapid access and total convenience of use.
Biceberg parking areas have a capacity for 23, 46, 69 or 92 bicycles.
Users park or collect their bicycle by means of a chip card following a process which is as simple as using a cash dispenser.
The parking area has been designed according to ergonomic criteria like a “friendly machine” which provides intuitive operational use, didactic signs and optimal access to your bicycle.
Research and need:
Mobility represents one of the main problems from an economic, social and ecological standpoint.
The severity of such problems has led to a new sustainable mobility policy based on greater ecomobility, public transport, transport on foot, by bicycle, in shared cars, as well as on reduced traffic of private vehicles.
The promotion of bicycles fits within a broad social movement advocating the right to chose one’s own means of transport as well as the return to a better quality of life for citizens by recovering areas for pedestrians and cyclists.
Studies undertaken by mobility commissions have established that one of the primary deterrents for using a bicycle is the deficiency in parking areas.
This is how the challenge of developing a new parking system for bicycles which is innovative, competitive and improves the quality of life for bicycle users has emerged.
Links Biciberg Biceberg :
www.biceberg.es
Posted by: Ariel | February 14, 2006 at 06:27 PM
Sant Feliu de Guíxols intends to promote bicycle driving within the city.
The first step is a place for parking bicycles. In the biceberg, near the bus Station.
Posted by: enrica | February 14, 2006 at 09:47 PM
Finally we have it.
Underground cycle storage facilities have been around for a while in Japan. Now comes news of a system commercially available in Spain, the Biceberg. Biciberg
http://www.biceberg.es/INGLES/index.htm
Posted by: takaya | February 14, 2006 at 10:07 PM
Fantastic. Biceberg Barcelona - Video at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAr64tk8i-E&mode=related&search=
Posted by: mark | June 29, 2006 at 02:59 AM
This is an interesting post. I hope you don't mind, I have linked is on my research blog at http://mwdesign.typepad.com/bikeofftokyo/
Posted by: Marcus Willcocks | July 04, 2007 at 12:17 AM
Hi, I have discovered a new sytem for parking and renting bicycles called bigloo. You can both park and rent bikes. You can see it in http://www.bigloo.es
Posted by: damian | January 10, 2008 at 03:23 AM