Spokesafe

Thank you for sharing the good word Wolf!! It is appreciated by all at Spokesafe

The best bit? This is an easy to follow, repeatable blueprint for other towns & cities across the UK to follow.

Just 31 lockers will facilitate thousands of journeys for cyclists across Cardiff who want a secure spot in the city centre in the years ahead.

Cardiff is showing what’s possible when secure cycle parking is treated as infrastructure - integrated into the city’s wider transport network.

A model for UK cities ready to level up active travel.

A huge thank you to the Cardiff Council projects team - a fantastic group to collaborate with throughout this rollout. 👏

Here’s what the Cardiff network includes:

✅ 31 lockers across key city centre locations
✅ Supports standard bikes + e-bikes
✅ A dedicated cargo bike locker
✅ Living roofs to green the streetscape
✅ Access from just £1.50/day
✅ All powered by Spokesafe_OS

Since launching the first site in August, 109+ cyclists have used just 6 lockers - proving that when secure parking is easy to book, people use it.

This marks a real shift in how cycle parking infrastructure is delivered:

1️⃣ A connected network, not a patchwork of sites
2️⃣ Digital-first, with real-time availability + access
3️⃣ Built to scale across public & private sector partners city-wide

Cardiff becomes UK’s first major city with a connected cycle parking network - Spokesafe Instantly access a network of secure places to park your active travel vehicle.

We're delighted to announce that Cardiff is the UK's first major city with a connected cycle parking network - powered by Spokesafe_OS.

In partnership with @cardiffcouncil.bsky.social, we’re managing a network of lockers, all accessible via one simple system.

🧵👇

www.spokesafe.com/blog/cardiff...

Love this Wolf!

SpokeSafe secure parking illuminated by a single lamppost in the courtyard. And visible in the windows are the silhouette of various cycles securely parked including my eCargo bike.

After a long painfully tiring day at work with downpouring rain outside all day & finish when it's dark outside. It's lovely to walk up to the @spokesafe.bsky.social secure parking, visible by a single light & see the silhouette of my eCargo bike awaiting to get me home safely &

Thanks Lou! We've had so many lovely comments from cyclists in Cardiff already - it's great to be there :)

A list of all of Spokesafe cycle parking sites now open in Cardiff

Thanks @spokesafe.bsky.social , look at all those wonderful safe cycle parking options in Cardiff now! ❤️

This is why we do what we do.

Such a lovely message to read on a Friday evening Wolf. Have a safe ride home!

Haha sorry Wolf! After 6 years we felt it was time for an update.

You've also reminded us to update it on here too - thank you for having our back!

How offering Daily bookings helped us facilitate over 250,000 journeys in 2024 - Spokesafe Instantly access a network of secure places to park your active travel vehicle.

Getting station cycle parking right is vital to encourage behaviour change. In 2024, we facilitated over 250,000 journeys by bike - and we're just getting started.

www.spokesafe.com/blog/how-off...

And if there's no space for a hub? We provide secure lockers for short, medium and long-stay parking - all bookable instantly.

Retrofitting hubs with digitally connected locks, so any cyclist can sign up & access securely via the Spokesafe app.

At Spokesafe, we're proud to work with providers like Network Rail, Greater Anglia, TfL, and LA's across the UK to deliver this standard across the UK.

How do we do it?

4. Flexible membership models.

Busy high-turnover sites are safer than empty ones. But most secure facilities only annual memberships - limiting their usage to just regular commuters.

Expand who can use your facility & when.

3. Simple sign up processes.

While it's tempting to think you'll increase the number of cyclists at your station by reducing friction, a sign up process means you'll know who is using your facility.

A brazen thief will now have to submit their info before stealing a bike.

2. Digital access control systems.

Installing an access control system (ACS) means entrances are tracked and recorded.

Not only is this handy for security - your cycle parking facility will now collect usage data & provide you with unique transport behaviour insights.

1. Install genuinely secure cycle parking infrastructure that works for long-stays.

Exposed bike racks work for short stays.

For anything longer than a few hours, regular users need hubs or lockers.

Bike thefts at stations 'decriminalised' The British Transport Police will not investigate many categories of bicycle theft, the BBC learns.

This article sounds alarming, but British Transport Police are right: CCTV alone is not a deterrent to thieves.

To stop thieves taking more bikes at stations across the UK, here are 4 easy to implement tips.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Thanks Wolf! We actually have this in place at our facility in Poole, the Dolphin Cycle Hub. We're not best placed to provide this but we'll have a chat with our local partners who are experts :)

... Once we have identified the root cause of the issue we will solve for it moving forwards. Always a learning process to make sure each individual location is as reliable as possible. Thanks for your patience again!

Hi Wolf, apologies for the inconvenience yesterday morning. We actually tend to use batteries across most sites as these are simpler to manage as part of a PPM process. We are investigating the site wide power failure yesterday (it caused outage across the full site, not just the door) and...

Nice blue Bullitt Bluebird parked at Spokesafe. Part of the eCargo bike library courtesy of Colchester Council.

Saw this lovely beauty whilst parking up at @spokesafe.bsky.social, part of the Colchester Council's eCargo bike library & 1st one I've seen parked here since starting using it. Also noticing the racks are getting rather crowded with lots of (e)bikes of many types.

Thanks for the shout out guys! We'd love to get started in Cardiff :)

Great to see a Beryl hire bike installation by our unit at Stevenage station - turning this space into a real mobility hub.

Off to the station and need a secure place to park your bike? Or heading to Stevenage for the day and want to get around town? You're covered either way!