The need for bicycle parking facilities at stations seems to be rapidly increasing. This research report focuses on whether this is the case and looks for explanations.
Chapter 2 presents a coherent picture of the factors which determine the demand for guarded and unguarded bicycle parking facilities. Three factors are dominant for the developments in the past two decades. In order of importance:

• Train use by students. This is also determined by the introduction of the student rail passes, the strong shifts in the size of the student population and the increase in the number of students who live at home for longer;
• Train use by paying passengers, which is also closely related to economic developments;
• The weather conditions. For journeys to stations, the bicycle has much more competition from the bus in bad weather than other journeys.

In recent times, the first two developments have tended to seesaw. In the 1990s, there was a decline in the number of students, but the number of paying passengers increased as a result of the favourable economy. After the year 2000, the student population grew rapidly, while the number of paying passengers stagnated or fell. For the coming years, it is expected that both developments will reinforce each other. An increase in the number of students mirrors economic growth. The demand for unguarded bicycle parking facilities will therefore rise accordingly in the coming years. The shortage of unguarded facilities will become more marked. Guarded facilities will also benefit from the expected rise in bicycle use to stations, but to a lesser extent.

Chapter 3 outlines various modes of transport to and from stations. In general, walking was the most common way of getting to and from stations in 2005, followed by cycling and bus-tram-metro. On the housing side of train journeys, the bicycle is the market leader with around 39 percent of the journeys. Bicycle use on the housing side has fluctuated over the last twenty years. First there was a peak in the early 1990s, as train use soared as a result of the introduction of the student rail pass. Then bicycle use to stations fell sharply with the decline in the student population following the shortening of study courses. The bad weather at the end of the 1990s also caused an extra dip in bicycle use. After the year 2000, the bicycle experienced a strong revival, particularly at the expense of the bus. Bicycle use to stations rose by almost 50 percent is five years. Explanations: the number of students rose, the weather conditions were good and the bicycle benefited from the price increase in bus tickets in a period of economic downturn. At smaller stations, the improved quality of the bicycle parking facilities caused many to swap the bus (and car) for the bicycle. In recent years, the economy has improved, whereby the number of train passengers has increased. This growth is strongest at suburban stations. On the activity side, the developments related to bicycles have been less spectacular. Bicycle use in forward transport mainly seems to be related to the number of paying passengers and less to the number of students. In times of economic growth, bicycle use in forward transport increases slightly.

Chapter 4 outlines the developments for unguarded bicycle facilities. The number of unguarded bicycles counted in the vicinity of the station is increasing faster than bicycle use to stations. The main explanations are the length of time a bicycle is parked, duplicate use and shifts from guarded to unguarded. Many cyclists leave their bicycles for several days. Consequently, each bicycle needs more than one bicycle place. Duplicate use has fallen because more students are living at home for longer. Their need for parking facilities shifts from the weekend to workdays. Although at many stations the bicycle parking capacity has been extended, the demand for unguarded bicycle parking facilities is rising much faster than the supply. Larger stations in particular are experiencing a huge shortage. At almost 80 percent of the (medium) large central stations, this shortage is over 15 percent. On average there is no room for more than 500 bicycles. The required capacity expansion to meet the deficit would cost millions of Euros.

Chapter 5 describes guarded bicycle parking facilities. Developments in the use of guarded facilities are in almost total contrast with general bicycle use to stations. In the 1990s, the number of customers of guarded parking facilities increased, but stagnated after the turn of the century. Two factors are dominant in the explanation: fluctuation in the number of paying train passengers (and thus indirectly economic growth) and an increase in parking charges. Before the year 2000, there had been no price rises and the economy (and thus the number of paying passengers) was good. After 2000, economic developments have been disappointing while parking charges have increased considerably. A shift from guarded to unguarded parking is the result. At smaller stations, unguarded facilities are also being modernised in the framework of Space for the Bicycle. In future, some of the customers of guarded facilities will prefer unguarded facilities, because of the improved quality: covered, more room per bicycle, locking possibilities and shorter walking distances.