Stated Preference-Based Analysis of the Impact of Bicycle Parking Fees on the Occupancy and Benefits of Bicycle Parking Stations
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59490/ejtir.2025.25.2.7522Keywords:
Bicycle Parking, Discrete Choice Modeling, Logsum, Parking Demand Management, PricingAbstract
Cities with high levels of cycling frequently encounter challenges associated with high demand for bicycle parking. One approach to tackle this is the installation of bicycle parking stations that provide weather and theft protection. Due to their high cost and limited capacity, a pricing strategy appears to be useful for managing the occupancy of these facilities. However, there is a shortage of quantitative studies that analyze improvements in bicycle parking and specifically measure the impact of parking fees. Against this background, this paper examines the effect of parking fees on the utility of planned bicycle parking stations at RWTH Aachen University in Germany. The study uses a mixed logit model that is based on a stated preference experiment on bicycle parking (n = 2,960). Based on logsum analysis, the results indicate that parking fees can contribute to bicycle parking demand being spatially more evenly distributed, thereby reducing congestion of parking stations while at the same time generating substantial revenues. In the case study, bicycle parking stations can enhance their benefit-cost ratio by implementing parking fees, provided that facilities with low occupancy are excluded from the parking fee. Therefore, the introduction of a modest fee can be beneficial for single bicycle parking facilities that otherwise face substantial crowding, without compromising, but actually increasing their benefit-cost ratio.
Downloads
Metrics
References
Buehler, R., Heinen, E., and Nakamura, K. (2021). Bicycle Parking. In R. Buehler & J. Pucher (Eds.), Cycling for Sustainable Cities. The MIT Press. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/11963.003.0010
Egan, R., Dowling, C. M., and Caulfield, B. (2022). Planning for Diverse Cycling Practices: A Cycle-Parking Type Preference Typology. Case Studies on Transport Policy, 10(3), 1930–1944. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2022.08.007
Fournier, J., van Liefferinge, M., Ravensbergen, L., DeWeese, J., and El-Geneidy, A. (2023). Evaluating the Need for Secured Bicycle Parking Across Cyclist Typologies. International Journal of Sustainable Transportation. https://doi.org/10.1080/15568318.2023.2166438.
Gamman, L., Thorpe, A., and Willcocks, M. (2004). Bike Off! Tracking the Design Terrains of Cycle Parking: Reviewing Use, Misuse and Abuse. Crime Prevention and Community Safety, 6(4), 19–36. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.cpcs.8140199
Hunt, J., and Abraham, J. (2007). Influences on bicycle use. Transportation, 34, 453–470. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11116-006-9109-1
Kohlrautz, D., and Kuhnimhof, T. (2024a). Planning for bicycle parking: Predicting demand using stated preference and count data. Journal of Cycling and Micromobility Research, 2, 100011. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcmr.2024.100011
Kohlrautz, D., and Kuhnimhof, T. (2024b). Prioritizing bicycle parking improvements: An application of the logsum approach. Case Studies on Transport Policy, 17, 101227. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cstp.2024.101227
Kohlrautz, D., and Kuhnimhof, T. (2025). Cyclists’ heterogeneous parking preferences and their implications for bicycle parking facilities. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 191, 104298. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2024.104298
Larsen, J. (2015). Bicycle Parking and Locking: Ethnography of Designs and Practices. Mobilities. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1080/17450101.2014.993534
Lusk, A. C., Wen, X., and Zhou, L. (2014). Gender and used/preferred differences of bicycle routes, parking, intersection signals, and bicycle type: Professional middle class preferences in Hangzhou, China. Journal of Transport & Health, 1(2), 124–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jth.2014.04.001
Molin, E., and Maat, K. (2015). Bicycle parking demand at railway stations: Capturing price-walking trade offs. Research in Transportation Economics, 53, 3–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.retrec.2015.10.014
Moskovitz, D. A., and Wheeler, N. (2011). Bicycle Parking Analysis with Time Series Photography. Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board, 2247(1), 64–71. https://doi.org/10.3141/2247-08
Van der Spek, S. C., and Scheltema, N. (2015). The importance of bicycle parking management. Research in Transportation Business & Management, 15, 39–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rtbm.2015.03.001
Van Lierop, D., Lee, B. H., & El-Geneidy, A. M. (2012, January). Secure investment for active transport: Willingness to pay for secured bicycle parking in Montreal, Canada [Conference presentation]. 93rd Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, DC.
Wardman, M., Tight, M., and Page, M. (2007). Factors influencing the propensity to cycle to work. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 41(4), 339–350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2006.09.011
Yuan, C., Sun, Y., Lv, J., and Lusk, A. C. (2017). Cycle Tracks and Parking Environments in China: Learning from College Students at Peking University. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 14(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14080930
ZIV – Zweirad-Industrie-Verband. (2024, March 13). Marktdaten Fahrräder und E-Bikes für 2023. ZIV. https://www.ziv-zweirad.de/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/ZIV_Marktdatenpraesentation_2024_fuer_GJ_2023.pdf.
Downloads
Additional Files
Published
Versions
- 2025-04-30 (2)
- 2025-04-19 (1)
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2025 David Kohlrautz, Tobias Kuhnimhof

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.