Some 100,000 more bike parking spots at train stations

The Ministry of Infrastructure, the provinces, and transport regions plan to build another 100 thousand bicycle parking spaces around train stations throughout the Netherlands by 2025, in order to eliminate the national shortage in parking spaces. A total of 200 million euros was set aside for this purpose.

The Netherlands already has over 500 thousand bicycle parking spots at stations. And while that seems a lot, it's really not when you consider that every Dutch person on average owns at least one bicycle and that about half of travelers come to the station by bike, State Secretary Stientje van Veldhoven of Infrastructure and Water Management said.

"We see that the Dutch have started cycling even more in corona time. Now we still work from home as much as possible, but soon we will also be able to go to work by bike. With this investment, we ensure that you can leave your bicycle at the station, so that you can easily continue your journey by train, bus shared car or subway," she said.

All the provinces and transport regions were invited to submit plans for bicycle parking. Van Veldhvoen selected 63 plans - 46 to get started immediately, and 17 in which a study for the best design was launched. Priority was given to parking facilities located at stations that are public transport hubs or where many additional houses will be built in the coming years.

Innovation was also a selection criterion. Some of the plans include robot lifts that will park the bicycle and travelers can go straight to their next form of transport. Plans also include attention for more efficient design with more space for different types of bicycles, like cargo bikes or electric bikes that need a charger at the parking spot.

The Ministry will contribute a maximum of 40 percent of the costs of this project. As per the climate agreement, a total of 75 million euros is available to regional plans. That brings the total investment to about 200 million euros.

The transport regions will further elaborate their plans together with rail manager ProRail in the coming period.