In a country with more bikes than people, finding a parking space can become problematic. The Netherlands takes encouraging measures to get even more people on their bikes by installing underground bicycle parking spaces in cities all around the country.

The world’s biggest multi-storey parking area can be found in Utrecht: The modern concrete-and-glass style building consist of three floors of double decker recks, where 12,500 bikes can be parked. This includes special spaces for e.g., rental or cargo bikes. The world’s second biggest underground parking area is located in Den Haque. The garage located close to the city’s central station can fit up to 8,000 bicycles. It has space for 700 public transit bikes and 7.000 other bicycles. Similar stations can be found all over the country, in e.g., popular cities like Amsterdam, Maastricht or Groningen.

These garages are only one part of a bigger strategy worth hundreds of millions of Euros, devoted to enhancing the cycling infrastructure across the country. The strategy aims to lower congestion, increase air quality in the cities and fight climate change, while at the same time being healthy and cost effective for citizens. Public transport and cycling must become as comfortable and easy as possible. Therefore, many of the underground parking spaces are located at e.g., big train station, to benefit from the synergies of a mixed mobility.