Build public bike parking at the nodes of daily life

Where should a city put secure bike parking? A single station is a pilot. A network changes how people travel. The difference is where the stations go.

Kirsten Corson, CEO of Locky Dock, has a name for the right places. She calls them the nodes of daily life.

What are the nodes of daily life?

"If you can put them at the university, if you can put them at the library, put them at supermarkets, put them at the swimming pool," Kirsten says. "We call them the nodes of daily life. So think of it as a village network."

Typical nodes include these.

• Libraries and community centers
• Supermarkets and town-center retail
• Universities and schools
• Swimming pools and sports facilities
• Train stations and bus interchanges
• Council offices and service centers

These are trips people already make. Secure parking at the far end is what lets them make the trip by bike.

How do you prioritize sites?

Start with the places people visit every week. Then rank the rest on five points.

1. Frequency. Places people visit weekly beat places they visit once a year.
2. Dwell time. Long visits, such as study, shopping or a swim, are where secure parking and charging matter most.
3. Theft risk. Sites with a history of bike theft make the strongest case.
4. Visibility and footfall. In an advertising-funded network, a site also has to work as a media location.
5. Spacing. Cover the trips between nodes, not just the nodes.

Our article on the site selection mistake that costs operators most covers the media side in detail.

If you are preparing a council proposal, the sites you name matter as much as the pitch. See how to pitch secure bike parking to a city council.

Why start with a head office?

Many nodes of daily life belong to chains. Supermarkets, rail operators and universities with several campuses all run many sites. One agreement can open many of them at once.

We cover this in our article on rolling out bike stations fast with head-office agreements.

How does data help you grow the network?

Every Bikeep station logs its sessions on the Bikeep platform. After a few months, you can see which sites fill up, which need more docks and where the next station should go.

Frequently asked questions

What are the nodes of daily life?

It is Locky Dock's name for the places people visit in an ordinary week, such as universities, libraries, supermarkets and swimming pools. Riders need secure parking at these places.

Why build a network instead of a single station?

A trip has two ends. A rider chooses the bike when they can park securely at both, and drives when they cannot.

Which sites should come first?

Start with places people visit weekly, where they stay a while and where bikes already get stolen.

Does every site need to suit advertising?

In an advertising-funded network like Locky Dock's, yes. The screens need foot traffic and visibility, so each site has to work as a media location.