Only 0.47% of motorbikes granted a designated space across all council car parks in Scotland
Less than 1% of Scotland’s licensed motorbikes are being granted a designated space in council car parks.
Only 197 of the country’s 86,224 total parking spaces* in council car parks are dedicated to motorcycles - a paltry 0.23%. Those motorcycle-specific spaces** may have enough room to fit approximately*** 420 bikes in them but it still leaves a huge shortfall when compared against the number of riders in Scotland. There are around 90,100 registered motorcycles but the lack of provision means just 0.47% are able to park in bays that are allocated exclusively to them in authorities’ off-street parking facilities.
The damning under-representation looks even worse when you consider there are roughly 2.53 million registered cars in Scotland. Every 34 in 1,000 cars are being catered for by councils, but only four in 1,000 motorcycles - over eight times less.
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.
Its detailed analysis found that councils in England are collectively providing the best offering when it comes to this form of motorcycle parking. Scotland ranks third. 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
England (0.82%) claims the dubious bragging rights of topping the UK statistics by way of having room to park around 10,250 of its 1.25 million registered motorcycles in areas reserved for bikes. Using the same formula leaves Wales (0.49%), Scotland (0.47%) and Northern Ireland (0.05%) faring even worse. The latter provides a tiny 13 bays in total.
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 - and it’s certainly the same story in Scotland.
“It’s concerning to us that, despite there being over 90,000 licensed bikes on Scottish roads, councils have made provisions for fewer than 450 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.”
Other key takeaways gained from collecting data from 362 authorities, 32 of which are in Scotland, include:
- Seven councils in Scotland failed to provide data on the matter; three because they either have no car parks or their parking is managed by another authority
- Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, North Ayrshire and Stirling failed to provide data on the matter and were recorded as zero
- It’s the same for The City of Edinburgh, Shetland Islands and West Lothian but this is due to the fact that these councils either have no car parks or their parking is managed by another authority
- In more positive news, however, 70% of Scottish regions appear to offer free, designated motorcycle parking in all of their car parks
- Areas like Highland impress with room for approximately 90 bikes to park in a space that is assigned to bikers only - the best return in the country
- It is also the best ranked when it comes to having the highest number of bike-specific spaces (30) in Scotland
- Fife sits fourth in terms of the amount of dedicated bays it offers (20) but second when it comes to how many bikes they can accommodate (60)
- The figures may have been worse had East Dunbartonshire not had 19 car parks that “are not lined” so “no estimate was given about the vehicles they can accommodate”
The findings mirror the disappointing figures for motorcyclists around the UK. Just 0.41% of the 1,046,437* total parking spaces in council car parks are dedicated to two-wheel motorists. They fit approximately*** 11,058 bikes - provision for just 0.76% of the around 1.4 million registered motorcycles. 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.
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: “Of course, we can appreciate that space and resources are limited and not every council can follow Stratford-on-Avon Council’s lead in England by providing a dedicated car park exclusively for motorcycles. Nonetheless, 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 read the in-depth report in full and dig into a plethora of visual stats with a national, regional and local focus.
*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
** 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)
*** 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.