Stated Preference-Based Analysis of the Impact of Bicycle Parking Fees on the Occupancy and Benefits of Bicycle Parking Stations

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.