Bikers want parking to be free and more visible, FEMA survey finds
Europe’s bikers want motorcycle parking to be free, and for places where motorcycles are allowed to park to be more clear.
A survey from FEMA has found that Europe’s motorcyclists want their parking to be free of charge.
The British Motorcyclists Federation (BMF) reports that the FEMA survey, which we reported on while it was still open a few weeks ago, has found that motorcyclists in Europe do not want to pay to park their motorcycle, which they see as an intelligent choice of mobility for which they should not be ‘punished’.
“The overall conclusion of the survey is that riders from all over Europe want to be able to park their bike anywhere, as long as it does not cause nuisance for pedestrians and other road users,” the BMF says.
Almost 90% (88.94%, to be precise) of the survey’s respondents say that motorcycles should be allowed to park anywhere as long as it does not cause a disruption or disturbance for other road users, with a consensus found regardless of nationality.
Only 42% of respondents said that they found it was clear to understand where it is okay to park their motorcycle, while only 15% found it was clear when travelling abroad. In this regard, the communication from local authorities to road users must be improved.
67% of people said in the survey that they thought motorcycle parking should be separate from car parking, while only 38% said their own place of work, or school, has dedicated motorcycle parking. “Using a motorcycle or any other powered two-wheeler to commute seriously reduces traffic jams and improves urban mobility,” the BMF says. “All we ask for when we arrive is a safe and easy to reach parking spot.”
74% of the survey’s respondents said they would be happy to pay for parking as long as there are facilities in place to make this a straightforward and safe process, including anti-theft measures and places to store helmets and riding gear.
The breakdown of this is that, while 25% of people do not want to pay for motorcycle parking at all, regardless of facilities, 44% of people are willing to pay the equivalent of a quarter of what a car owner pays, 22% are willing to pay half the price of a car, and four per cent are willing to pay the same price as a car.
Despite the (arguably surprisingly) high percentage of people who are willing to pay for motorcycle parking where facilities are available, almost 70% (69.49% specifically) say that it is not acceptable to charge for parking where there are no facilities.
Full results of the survey, which had 3,861 responses from 38 countries, can be found on FEMA’s website, here.
