Case Study - Lueneburg, Germany

Bicycle station - Lueneburg, Germany

An ever increasing number of commuters to Hamburg, insufficient bicycle parking facilities near the railway station (with the result that the station became the place with the highest bicycle theft rate in the city) and the declared intention to promote sustainable modes of transport in the city's transport development plan of 1990 induced the local authority to build a bicycle station right next to the train station premises. Due to the 650 bicycles parked at this location as ascertained in the framework of a census, the new bicycle station was built with a capacity for 965 bicycles on two levels which can be accessed via ramps. There is a bicycle shop with workshop from where the bicycle station is kept under surveillance. The bicycle station is run by a bicycle trader from Lueneburg, who also offers bicycle hiring and hands out information like city maps, etc. The bicycle shop and the lower parking deck are opened Mondays to Fridays from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m, and on weekends from 7.30 a.m. to 10 p.m. The upper parking deck is open all night so that people coming home late can still pick up their bike. Building the bicycle station took 11 months. It opened up in April 1997. An opening party was held in June 1997.