BikeVault- A perfect solution for bike parking

Bike parking is one of the most common problems faced by every rider. Have you ever wondered about a cycle rack with a lock that can be operated directly through an application from a phone? If this happens then, bikers don’t have to suffer parking problems anymore. Three friends have come up with such great idea and the future of bike parking i.e. BikeVault will become a reality very soon.

Image source: evanscycles.com

During Glasgow School of Art, Michael Evans, Mason Holden, and Daniel Harkin met as product design engineering students and have a discussion about this useful idea. In 2012, they took part in a competition ‘hands off my bike’ organized by the National Endowment for Science Technology and the Arts. They were asked to design a product that could reduce the problems related to thefts.

They started on a project called Bikevault and, later on, were among the top 10 at the end of the competition. Later on, they realized that the project they were working on could be of great help for the bikers as the bikers hate to carry additional weights along with themselves and a bike lock weight is equivalent to two pieces of bricks.

So, they started on a project that will provide maximum bike security for the cyclists and that too without carrying additional weight along with them. When you lock a car or a house, you only carry a lock key with you. So, they started working on an idea that cyclist only needs to take a lock key instead of carrying the bike lock and within few years this idea evolved as BikeVault.

What exactly is Bikevault?

BikeVault is basically a parking station with incredible locking facility. When you roll up at the parking station, you will find two small towers spacedat a short distance. You need to park your bike between the turrets and complete the identification process. You can either identify yourself through the phone application or with the help of a card. Once, the identification process is completed the locking system will be activated that will pass a bar through the bike frame and the front wheel and connect it to the second tower.

Image source: evanscycles.com

Though it doesn’t sound great, does these bike stations are going to be set up and installed for free. Michael Evans, Mason Holden, and Daniel Harkin have also come up with a great business idea that will be helpful for both the cyclists and the advertisers.

Each set of towers will have an individual digital display that can be updated from any location through a remote connection. So, an exciting opportunity is also waiting for the advertisers as they advertise according to the time period, weather or according to an event on a large platform.

The bus shelter has been one of the most traditional advertising channels and advertising on these bike stations will prove out to be the best advertising station as you will find more traffic on bike locking stations as compared to bus stations.

With such a perfect business model, BikeVault has enjoyed tremendous success as it has several business incentive schemes. The team will definitely enjoy a tremendous success in the upcoming year as this is the future of bike parking and more and more cyclists will join the party which will lead to more bike stations, more advertisers which will undoubtedly boost the profit of the company.

On-street pilot tests in the offering

• After enjoying a decent success in bike locking stations, BikeVault team is also planning to set up the on-street pilot tests for the first time ever. They have started working on this new project and, as a result, have shortlisted three sites in Scotland and began working with the property owners to decide which will be the ideal place for us. This pilot scheme will we first run for a trial period of three months and if it works correctly, then it will be implemented shortly.
• The BikeVault thinks working in a lab surroundings is not able to produce valid results until you think how you will get the task done and how it will be used in the real world. This thinking has definitely helped them to come up with some exceptional ideas that shook the whole world.

So, once the pilot test is correctly executed in the streets, then the company will work on it to bring this useful idea to more and more sites. The primary aim of BikeVault is to get the lock stations installed on the street corners and to get it fulfilled; they are working will small group of people who will get the job done effectively. So, get ready for the future of bike parking and once this project is completed it will be loved by the cyclists and the advertisers as cyclists can enjoy better locking and parking system whereas advertisers can advertise on much bigger platforms.