London boroughs where it’s cheaper to park a car than a bike

The London neighborhoods where it costs more to park a bike than a car have been revealed by cycling campaigners.

Seventeen boroughs charge more for a space in an on-street bike shed than for a car parking permit.

Islington charges £107.25 a year for a space in a secure hangar – plus an additional £27.75 key deposit – but just £25 a year for an electric car or £30 a year for a small petrol vehicle or hybrid.

This means it would cost a family of four £429 a year to park four bikes – £399 more than if they had a car.

Newham, the former Olympic district, Richmond and Barking and Dagenham allow residents to park electric and low-emission cars for free, but charge £72 a year for a space in a bike shed.

Hounslow also allows free parking but charges £36 for a bike shed.

More environmentally progressive boroughs such as Camden, Hackney and Waltham Forest ensure that parking a bike costs less than a car.

Camden charges £135.23 for a car but £36 for a bike, Hackney £62.50 against £42 and Waltham Forest £40 against £35.

The various allegations were revealed in a report published on Wednesday by the Fare City think tank. Between October and March, it sent freedom of information requests to all 33 boroughs.

Each bike shed takes up less space than a car, but can accommodate six bikes. More than 60,000 Londoners are waiting for a bike shed – at any one time there are an estimated 400 bike thefts a week in the capital.

This forces London cyclists to store their bikes at home despite a lack of space – resulting in bikes being kept in cupboards, toilets or hanging on walls. This was highlighted by the #ThisIsAwkward campaign on social media.

The report said the average cost of renting a space in a bike shed in London was £57.90.

For a family of four, this would cost £231.60 a year – almost five times the average cost of parking a petrol car (£50) and seven times an electric car (£29).

Oliver Lord, head of the UK’s Clean Cities Campaign, said the cost of storing a bike in some boroughs was “ridiculous”.

He said: “Cycle parking should never cost more than car parking. Revenue from car parking, especially polluting vehicles, should be used to fund accessible and safe bicycle parking.

“Bike sheds are an extremely practical way for councils to help people be less dependent on their cars, which is essential to tackling London’s toxic air.”

Charles Critchell, managing director of Fare City, said: “London’s boroughs must not only address the inequity between the cost of parking a bike versus parking a car, but go further and faster to ensure that the current demand for spaces for the bicycle shed is satisfied’.

Eilidh Murray, Cycle Islington campaign co-ordinator, said: “It’s inexplicable that it’s cheaper to park a car than a bike in London and especially in areas like Islington where most people live in flats and only 30% of households own a car .

“Making it more difficult for a family to use bicycles than a car undermines any declaration of climate emergency.”

Islington Council said it has 4,400 bike storage spaces – 2,400 in on-street bike sheds and 2,000 on council estates – and plans to provide a further 2,000 spaces over the next two years (1,200 in on-street bike sheds + 800 in in the council). ).

It has been said that bike sheds are more expensive to provide and maintain than car parks.

The costs were said to include: purchase of hangars; personnel for the assessment of construction sites and the creation of technical drawings; public consultations; legal permits to install hangars on the highway; drafting and advertising of Traffic Management Orders; physical installation; scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and repairs; operational administration of the scheme; and a fund to replace the hangar when the 10-year warranties expire.

An Islington spokesman said: “Our scheme is cost neutral and deliberately designed to be sustainable and resilient in the long term, reducing uncertainty for residents.

“Our scheme not only ensures that bike sheds are always in working order, but also that they can be replaced when they reach the end of their warranty period.”