High Security Hubs
The modern cycling world includes a lot more than standard pedal powered machines with two wheels. If you have an e-bike, a cargo bike, or a family Tern, or if you use a pedal-assist tricycle because you have a disability, you want to get around the city on your cycle just like anyone else.
Ed Clancy OBE with Russell and supporters from British Cycling & the S Yorks MCA active travel team at the new Meadowhall Cycle Hub
Our research into cycle parking hubs over the years shows us that people riding these kinds of machines are reluctant to park them somewhere where they’ll wonder if they’ll still be there when they come to collect them. So the new hubs we’ll be managing will maximise security for all cyclists.
That means being covered from the weather, and having stands to lock your bike against for standard and larger bicycles, it means CCTV coverage, regular hub checking, cleaning and maintenance, and an app-based locking system linked to an individual user. (One of the first things we learned managing station hubs is that transferrable codes and physical keys can all too easily end up in the hands of people intent on theft, or worse.)
All of this costs us quite a bit to set up, but we think it’s necessary to encourage all sorts of people with all sorts of bikes to cycle more often. To try and cover these costs we have set our 2023 charge at £5/month (for access to all the hubs as the network grows) so it should be affordable for any cyclist, and we aim to keep our subscription at a monthly rate less than a daily bus ticket or city centre car parking charge.
Of course, we support free parking at standard outdoors Sheffield stands too, but we believe that modern cyclists, who choose to ride all kinds of bikes, deserve modern standards of high security parking too, and providing it is part of the infrastructure needed to grow cycling in all parts of Sheffield.
The old fob system at the Sheffield station cycle hub is, we’re afraid, no longer fit for purpose, and we’ve explained why to East Midlands Railways: the charge for the fob set many years ago never covered the costs of maintenance, and the IT system used simply no longer works properly. As many users know, the station hub is not as safe and secure as it could be, and as mentioned above, a fob that can change hands very easily is certainly not safe and secure for users.
Our new high security, restricted access Cycle Hub at Meadowhall is now open, and will be the first modern cycle parking hub in our growing network, with the City Centre Cycle Hub opening as soon as the internal work is finished. This is a system fit for the future, and suitable for the modern cycling world.
Ed Clancy came down on Monday along with colleagues Jo Maher and Chloe Shepherd from the South Yorkshire MCA active travel team, and Jonathan Powell from British Cycling. They’re all supporters of our aims to help the whole of the city (and region) to start and stay cycling, and agree that high security parking is an essential for that aim.