“High prices lock out residents who need cheap, sustainable transport the most”: Campaigners welcome slashed cost of safe bike parking permits after criticism of the “most expensive bike hangars in the UK”

Cardiff Council has announced plans to increase the number of secure bike hangars in the city while also reducing the cost of permits, a move that campaigners have broadly welcomed after months of criticism over pricing.

The issue had drawn attention because residents were being charged £120 a year to use one of the city’s 17 secure hangars. Critics argued that the fee was far too high for a service aimed at helping more people cycle, especially those without enough space at home to store a bike safely.

Campaigners said expensive permits risk shutting out the very residents who could benefit most from low-cost, greener transport. By lowering the price and expanding access, the council appears to be responding to concerns that secure parking must be affordable if cycling is to become a realistic option for more households.

The hangars, provided by Hooplr, are part of wider efforts to support everyday cycling in urban areas where theft concerns and lack of storage can put people off owning a bike. The latest change is likely to be seen as an attempt to make safe bike parking more accessible and to answer criticism that Cardiff’s charges were out of step with the goal of encouraging sustainable travel.