Only 696 of the area’s 140,852 total parking spaces* in council car parks are dedicated to motorcycles - a paltry 0.49%. But those motorcycle-specific spaces** have enough room to fit approximately*** 2,338 bikes - 1.29% of the 181,600 registered motorcycles in the South West. While it still leaves a huge shortfall, it’s the finest provision in the country regarding bays that are allocated exclusively to riders in authorities’ off-street parking facilities.
The eye-opening statistics were unearthed by Bikesure, the UK’s largest motorcycle insurance broker, which has produced one of the most in-depth reports ever seen on the issue and shows a serious lack of parking provision for motorbikes.
Calculations were based on the following:
- Most cars can take advantage of a one-bay-per-vehicle offering but the majority of allocated motorbike parking comes in a shared form by way of larger bays or areas that have the room to fit multiple machines
- Therefore, to provide the most accurate picture of demand versus capacity, the number of registered bikes in an area was divided by the approximate number of motorbikes that can fit in its designated motorcycle parking spaces
- This gave a comparison-based percentage to draw the best conclusions on how councils, counties, regions and countries are serving two-wheel motorists
Other key takeaways from the South West include:
- With room for 2,338 of them, the region sits second best in England when it comes to the number of bikes that can fit in designated motorbike areas
- Not only is there plentiful provision, but the South West is 13% above the national average when it comes to providing free parking for bikers – a huge 92% of districts don’t charge!
- Dorset is the county which has the most areas reserved for bikes (199), with specifically Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council providing 129 of those. This is the largest number of bike bays within one council in the South West, accommodating a huge 387 motorbikes
- The councils in Somerset (351), Bristol City (244), Dorset (210) and Cornwall (171) are the best of the rest when it comes to who can fit the most bikes in designated bays
- Bristol, at 1.82%, boasts the third-highest ratio of bike spaces vs total spaces in the country
- The figures may have looked even more favourable had South Gloucestershire and Swindon been able to provide data for two unmarked car parks apiece
- There is extra provision also available but not included in the figures because roughly 1,250 spaces are available on the beaches in Weston-super-Mare. However, these are subject to tides so don’t always exist
Data obtained from 362 authorities across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland shows only 0.76% of the 1.4 million registered motorcycles in the UK are able to park in dedicated slots for two-wheel motorists.
The stats do not take into account spaces, bays or areas that allow both bikes and cars to use them. This is because with almost 40 million drivers on the road compared to 3.6 million bikers, it’s likely that a majority of those will already be filled long before a motorbike tries to park up.
Rob Balls, Bikesure general manager, said: “Our findings lay bare the reality that UK motorcyclists are being undoubtedly overlooked when it comes to the safe and secure parking of their machines.
“It's concerning to us that, despite there being over 1.4 million licensed bikes on our roads, our councils have made provisions for fewer than 12,000 of them. This just doesn't feel good enough. It’s time for all local authorities to recognise the scale of the problem and start addressing the imbalance. The numbers just don’t add up, and bikers deserve better.
The damning under-representation looks even worse when you consider there are roughly 34 million registered cars in the four countries. Every 30 in 1,000 cars are being catered for by councils, but only seven in 1,000 motorcycles - over four times less.
The misery continues for bikers even if there are any dedicated motorbike spaces available in the first place with confusion reigning when it comes to rules around parking in off-street car parks. This includes no uniformity in the size of dedicated bays, the ability to use them being contingent on how others have parked and confusing parking communications that remain open to misinterpretation. Some bikers are even prohibited from leaving their machine in certain car parks, while others are instructed to park in a “sensible area” – but not in bays.
Mr Balls added: “Things may not look as bad in the South West as they do elsewhere but it still doesn’t make for the greatest reading either. Regardless of the figures, we believe that riders deserve the same consideration and consistency as is given to car drivers. Clearer rules, fairer charges, and safer, designated areas would go a long way in helping bikers feel recognised and respected on the road.”
Visit the Bikesure website to see how the South West compares to the rest of the UK and read the in-depth report in full.
* Every effort has been made to consider the figures listed as totals as being correct but these are based on council-provided data which, in some rare cases, includes estimates. The number does include disabled bays but does not factor in other types of spaces (EV charging, lorry bays, resident bays etc)
**The term spaces covers all motorcycle-specific parking provided by a council regardless of whether they describe it as a space, bay or area throughout this report
*** Many single motorcycle specific spaces, bays or areas can accommodate more than one bike and this figure takes that into account. Where a council has been unable to provide a concrete figure or estimate, it has been considered to be a standard size. This, based on data, suggests that one bike-specific space is able to accommodate three bikes.