South West ranked top for dedicated motorcycle spaces in council car parks

By Amanda Wilkins - 13 June 2025

Community

It's good news for Swindon bikers as a report has shown that the South West is statistically the best region in England when it comes to the number of designated spaces it provides for licensed motorbikes in council car parks.

Only 696 of the area’s 140,852 total parking spaces in council car parks are dedicated to motorcycles - a paltry 0.49%. But those motorcycle-specific spaces have enough room to fit approximately 2,338 bikes - 1.29% of the 181,600 registered motorcycles in the South West.

While it still leaves a huge shortfall, it’s the finest provision in the country regarding bays that are allocated exclusively to riders in authorities’ off-street parking facilities

The South West is also 13% above the national average when it comes to providing free parking for bikers – a huge 92% of districts don’t charge.

The in-depth report produced by Bikesure, the UK’s largest motorcycle insurance broker, contains a host of other key takeaways from the South West and elsewhere across the 362 UK authorities that were analysed

Rob Balls, the company’s general manager is urging authorities to “start addressing the imbalance”.

He said: “Things may not look as bad in the South West as they do elsewhere but it still doesn’t make for the greatest reading either.”

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