I’ve been sent a link to this video of an automated bike-parking elevator in Japan by at least 10 people, so I figured I should share it…
More info from the Japan Probe blog:
“Customers who come to the station by bicycle need only place their bike on a small platform and hit a few buttons, and the system will automatically store their bike in an underground parking garage that can accommodate 9,400 bikes. When the reporter asks the machine to retrieve his bicycle, it only takes 23 seconds to accomplish the task. The parking system costs 100 yen for a single use, or 1,800 yen for a monthly pass.”
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That\’s pretty amazing….
I hate to say this but this concept of elevator parking first existed for cars! Instead of an indoor area, though, the elevator opened directly to the lot of the parking garage and an attendant drove your car into the elevator. Great that they finally saw the advantage of having multi-level bike parking!
seriously, I can\’t imagine finding my bike again within an hour if I lose track of where I locked it in one of the train station bike parking lots. This seems like a lot less headache, worth the fee.
They do a similar thing with cars in Japan, too. They can\’t fit as many in as small of spaces, obviously….
How much space would this require in order to accommodate so many bikes? This almost seems like something that could be installed inside of, for example, the circular exit ramp of the parking garage at SE Third and Alder.