City's bike hangar scheme criticised for being most expensive in the UK

A city piloting a bike hangar scheme to help cyclists living in terraced homes store their bikes has been labelled 'anti-cycling', for charging the highest fees in the UK.

Cardiff's new £120-a-year fee is too expensive for low-income cyclists, said cycling campaigner Chris Roberts.

The average cost in London for a bike bay in a secure street-side shed provided by the private firm Cyclehoops is between £50 and £60, he added.

Cyclehoops deferred comment on the fees it charges in Cardiff to the council, which said it was discussing with the company "how the rates were set".

The bike hangar idea started in Cardiff with a petition presented to the council in 2020, with the city announcing a pilot scheme in 2024 that would see corrugated metal sheds, each storing up to six bikes, at 50 locations across the city.

The first 17 bike hangars were installed on residential streets in the Canton, Riverside, Plasnewydd, Cathays and Splott areas of the city in March.

"It was great news, until we found out they were going to the be the most expensive bike hangars in the UK," Roberts said.

"In Splott, Cardiff you are paying more to park your bike than in Islington," he said.

Cyclehoops has bike hanger services in cities across the UK, but the prices range from as low as £11 a year in Dundee, Scotland, to the £120 annual fee in Cardiff.

However, it is understood that Cardiff opted for a higher-cost maintenance agreement which sees the company able to fix any damage to the hangars more quickly.

But Roberts noted the company's website says its standard fee is £72 with the differences in prices down to subsidies put in place by the local authority.

"Not only is Cardiff council charging extra, its almost double the price," which he called an "injustice".

The city should be charging for the use of valuable space he said, noting drivers pay £35 a year for a residential street parking, taking up the space of two bike hangars with 12 bikes and fees of £1,440 a year.

"Most of these bike hangars are going to less affluent parts of the city were people don't have the income for a drive and a garage," he said.

"For someone on a low income, £120 a year is a lot," he added, claiming the high charges create an "income cut off point" are thus anti-cycling and against the city's stated policies to encourage everyone to cycle.

A spokesperson for Cardiff council said: "The council is in contact with the company to discuss how the rates were set in Cardiff and further information will be provided when it is available."