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1. dipak - Member

   Hi folks,

   This is my first post (so please go easy on the noob).

   I will be opening a cycle parking facility in Manchester and was hoping to get your opinions on what daily, weekly and monthly rates should be.

   It will be a valet type service with membership(free), we will serve coffee and soft drinks and will provide servicing and repairs on site.

   To be more specific about the parking part we will take your bike from you and rack it in a secure area which only staff can access and will be covered by cctv. You will be able to leave your belongings by means of a cloth bag on your handlebars.

   We also intend to provide the space for cyclists to get together as well as hosting various events in conjunction with GMP and TfGM

   I would love to hear any suggestions as to how we can provide better service.

   Thanks folks

   Dipak

   Posted 3 months ago #
2. domino - Member

   Have you had a look into the Cyclepoint facility at Leeds Station that sounds very similar? Might be worth a look, their prices are published on their website.

   Posted 3 months ago #
3. dipak - Member

   Hi Domino,

   We visited Leeds Cycle Park a few days ago and it was Michael there who recommended I visit this forum

   To make the cycle park accessible and cover costs(rent,bills and staffing our idea of charges is as follows:

   50p for up to two hours
   £1.50 for the day - up to 19:30
   £6.50 for a week
   £20.00 for a month

   If we get enough demand for annual memberships we will include a discounted annual fee.

   DP

   Posted 3 months ago #
4. muppetWrangler - Member

   That sounds cheaper than I would have expected.

   I'd make it 40p per hour capped at £2 per any one day.

   Personally I'd leave it at that, nice and simple pricing structure. I'd do away with all the other sliding scale fees but instead have a loyalty card so that every 5th full day is free of charge. Bit like the little coffee cards you get in starbucks or costa.

   Posted 3 months ago #
5. scaled - Member

   I'll pop along for cakes and coffee

   Don't most places (offices) in the city centre have secure bike storage or am I just being spoiled?

   There's 2 levels of basement under this place...

   Posted 3 months ago #
6. dipak - Member

   Lol - I didn't think anyone would say it was too CHEAP! hehehe.

   Membership rates will be for those who wish to use it - For anyone who just strolls in with a bike its either 50p or £1.50. As I mentioned before the cycle park part of the business is not for profit

   Posted 3 months ago #
7. dipak - Member

   A lot of offices provide cycle parking for staff but a lot of businesses cannot afford to give the space up for employees to store cycles.

   You are soooo spoiled scaled but of course we will have coffee and cake for you

   DP

   Posted 3 months ago #
8. wwaswas - Member

   the cycle park part of the business is not for profit

   because of how funding has been generated or for ethical reasons?

   PErsonally, I'd be looking to get profit out of the parking - if you can get regular people and a guaranteed base income each month it'll help no end with cash flow.

   Oh, and you should do some sort of discount for monthly payments - people may not use it every day anyway but will be pleased to pay less than they woudl for random turning up.

   Posted 3 months ago #
9. pitduck - Member

   I think i love you dipak

   Posted 3 months ago #
10. muppetWrangler - Member

    Are you planning on having changing rooms / showers? That might be a useful facility for anyone commuting into work.

    Posted 3 months ago #
11. dipak - Member

    Hey folks, Ill have to answer everyone in one post - apologies.

    wwaswas - I will also have coffee and cycle repair there, these will make profit but the profits from the cycle parking will cover all overheads - so the coffee and maintenance will have none. Monthly payments are £20 - so 77p per day, half of day storage prices.

    Pitduck - I love that you posted that comment - that's awesome!

    MuppetWrangler - Unfortunately we will not have showers but we do have a large disabled loo where you can get changed and we will offer cloth bags to stash your belongings in and hang over your handlebars.

    Thanks for making me feel welcome folks - I appreciate it.

    DP

    Posted 3 months ago #
12. Garry_Lager - Member

    I'd sort of balk at paying £240 a year to park the bike tbh [I work in central Manchester but am sorted for storage]. Not that I think it's too steep in general, just that I've always worked in places with secure-ish lock-ups so it would personally be a bit of a shock to the system. I commute on a pompino, cost 5-600, insured - doubt it would be a goer for me. Interested to hear what others think though.

    Also appreciate if you're charging a 1-2 quid a day, which seems v reasonable, then a whole year is obv going to be a decent multiplier of this.

    Posted 3 months ago #
13. jonk - Member

    A deal breaker for me would be a shower. Other than that it sounds like a decent facility.

    Posted 3 months ago #
14. Andyhilton - Member

    Whereabouts is this going to be out of interest?

    Posted 3 months ago #
15. dipak - Member

    Garry Lager(great name),

    I have avoided a annual fee for the reason that people would use the cycle park mostly during the summer months and less during winter and so the cost of parking would be reduced. I wanted to reward monthly users with a much lower cost. Going by other cycle parks in the UK it seems monthly and annual users are much greater in number than daily users - It took me by surprise. Maybe we could offer annual users say, four free services per year?
    What do you think?

    DP

    Posted 3 months ago #
16. dipak - Member

    We are looking at being based on Corporation Street under the arches.

    DP

    Posted 3 months ago #
17. muppetWrangler - Member

    No showers or changing rooms would mean that I wouldn't consider it as a regular day long facility.

    Would be fine for an hour or so to nip to the shops but If I was using it to store the bike whilst at work I'd want to able to get showered and changed in a bit of comfort rather than scrapping about in a disabled loo.

    If many people thought like me (and this is far from certain) then I'd look at the pricing to make sure that you can maximise the income off of the two hour stays.

    Big Maggys in St Helier is a good example of the level of service I would expect if I were paying for it. It is considerably more expensive than you are proposing but then they offer a fuller service, all depends who you're aiming it at really.
    Big Maggys

    [edit]

    I just read that back and it sounded more critical than intended, it was written purely as food for thought and above all else I wish you the best of luck with your new venture.

    Posted 3 months ago #
18. dipak - Member

    Jonk,

    I have considered approaching Virgin Gym to see if our members can use their showers. I'm not sure if this is feasible but it is an option.

    If this first venue is successful we will move to larger premises that will certainly have showers.

    DP

    Posted 3 months ago #
19. project - Member

    Its all aboutlocation and opening hours , so where abouts are you based, Mcr is a big place.

    Alo sthe cloth bag on the handlebars is open to abuse and theft, best to use lockers, showers would be nice, not unisex,.

    Otherwise best of luck

    Posted 3 months ago #
20. muppetWrangler - Member

    not unisex

    I disagree

    Posted 3 months ago #
21. voodoo_chile - Member

    Dipak, good luck with your venture you seem to have covered most bases and really well thought out ..the 4 free services i wouldnt think is viable to your users, for me i wouldnt let anyone touch my bikes (no offence)
    And the kind of folk who would use your facility i would bet would be similar. Aso a shower would be a great move for you good luck

    Posted 3 months ago #
22. dipak - Member

    Big Maggys looks great!

    It is certainly the type of place we would aspire to be. I have to start this venture off small but if Manchester supports us we will be offering service such as that provided by Maggys. I would be over the moon if by the end of 2012 we are oversubscribed and have to move to a place where we can provide showers and a laundry! That's fantastic!

    DP

    Posted 3 months ago #
23. dipak - Member

    Location is Corporation Street and hours are 07:30 - 19:30 Monday to Saturday.

    Posted 3 months ago #
24. Garry_Lager - Member

    It sounds like it could be a great facility tbh, I was just thinking from the perspective of using it day in day out over the year, and me having a sort of innate stingy-ness from never having needed to pay for bike storage.
    I guess it depends on how people view locking their bike up on the street - if they'd rather get the train then do that you've got tremendous lattitude on pricing. Good luck in any case.

    Posted 3 months ago #
25. dipak - Member

    Everything that is said here is food for thought folks, I came here to get your opinions and you are all helping me tbh, I really didn't think anyone would reply!

    Posted 3 months ago #
26. dipak - Member

    Oh, the project is wholly privately funded for now, we have asked for grant help but the process is very slow and we felt that Manchester needed safe cycle storage yesterday.
    The reason the cycle park is not-for-profit is that it is good ethical policy. We can provide this service without being greedy

    Cheers

    DP

    Posted 3 months ago #

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