Bike Valet
Bike valet is a fantastic service offering secure parking for bicycles at events, festivals, or community gatherings. It’s like having a VIP parking service for your bike. Riders can check in their bikes upon arrival and receive a ticket for hassle-free retrieval later on. It’s akin to a car valet service but better and more sustainable.
Parking can consume a significant amount of space, sometimes up to 320 square feet per space, especially when factoring in the necessary driving aisles. With parking taking up so much space and events requiring a lot of people in an area, biking offers a fun way to get to an event while reducing the need for driving and parking a car.
Beyond its practical benefits, bike valet serves as a meaningful touchpoint for community engagement. It creates a unique “third space” for the community during an event, fostering connections and conversations among attendees. Each bike valet represents an opportunity to strengthen community bonds and promote sustainable transportation options.
In my experience, bike valet has been met with enthusiasm from event attendees who often encounter the service for the first time. It serves as a gateway to community building and encourages individuals to explore biking to events in the area, contributing to a more vibrant and connected community fabric.
How to Get Involved with Bike Valet
Here is a guide filled with helpful tips on initiating a bike valet service in your community and making a positive impact!
Start by reaching out to your local bike or urbanism community, or even event organizers, to see if there’s already a bike valet service operating. In some cases, I have seen sports facilities offer bike valet services on one off occasions, but these are typically run through a bicycle organization and are usually not permanent. When I attended Arizona State University, they did offer bike valet for students, so checking your local colleges might be another way to get involved with bike valet. These services often rely on dedicated volunteers who are passionate about community and biking
If there’s no bike valet service in your area yet, consider taking the initiative! Identify local nonprofit groups or organizations with an interest in promoting biking and sustainable transportation. If you’re part of an established group, see if someone can take charge of launching and managing the bike valet program. Donations from bike valet can help support the service and bring in donations to support your organization.
Here are examples of different community groups offering bike valet:
Bike Tempe
Phoenix Spokes People
Living Streets Alliance
Arizona State University
San Francisco Bicycle Coalition
Transportation Alternatives
Go By Bike PDX
Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition
Main Bike Valet Equipment
When setting up a bike valet service, acquiring the right equipment is important for getting started. There are two main components you’ll need to consider:
Bike Valet Rack: An essential piece of equipment is the bike valet rack, which provides secure parking for bicycles. Moved By Bikes offers portable bike valet racks, and you can explore their options here. These portable bike valet make it easy to transport and can fit about 8 bikes! There are other event style bike parking but I like the portable bike valet to make transporting the racks easier. Alternatively, consider reaching out to your local transit service provider. They may have valet racks available for borrowing, especially if you have a good relationship with them or your organization does.
Tear-off Ticketing System: To effectively manage the parking of bikes, a tear-off ticketing system is needed to track people’s bike. Valet ticket for bike valet services come in different size and look, which you can browse here. I recommend to evaluate different options to find the one that best aligns with your organizational needs. Additionally, ensure that your organization’s logo is prominently displayed on the tickets. Not only does this help with brand awareness, but it also reinforces the identity of your group and its services.
By investing in these key pieces of equipment, you can begin starting an organized bike valet service. As you receive donations, you can reinvest in strengthening your service with more support equipment to help.
Supportive Equipment for Bike Valet
In addition to the main equipment, there are several supportive items that can enhance the functionality and visibility of the bike valet area:
- 10×10 Pop-Up Tent: Provides shelter for volunteers, ensuring shade protection during the event.
- Donation/Tip Jar: Encourages attendees to support the bike valet service financially, helping sustain future operations. If you take donation online, have a QR code to them on the table.
- Foldable Table and Chairs: Offers a designated space for attendants to manage bike check-ins and check-outs efficiently.
- Branded Table Cloth: Displays your organization’s logo or event branding, increasing visibility and recognition.
- Portable Lights: Ensures visibility during evening events, enhancing lightning around the bikes if event organizers are not able to.
- Directional Signage and A-Frame: Guides riders to the bike valet area and indicates its location within the event’s footprint
- Rope and Gear Ties/Zip Ties: Helps organize a secure bike parking area and equipment in place.
- Branded T-Shirt: Having a bike valet T-shirt helps place trust in your valet service and helps identify who’s helping.
- Bike Tools: Having bike tools, such as an Allen key or a bike pump can help support riders’ experience.
Implementing these supportive elements, bike valet services can operate smoothly, providing attendees with a safer and more reliable option. The more you are able to reinvested from donations, the better experience event goers will have. If you are just getting start with the program, I have found many events will lend you a pop-up tent, table and chairs. It never hurts to ask them! I recommend once you have a table keep some bike or community-related information on the table as it will keep your table engaged and community-focused.
Equipment Transportations and Storage
Transporting the bike valet equipment may seem daunting, especially if you don’t have access to a car. As someone who hasn’t owned a car, I’ve successfully managed bike valet events without one. Here are some tips on how to transport your equipment and tackle storage challenges:
A sturdy hand-wagon has been my go-to solution for transporting all the necessary equipment when the event is walking distance. However, if the event is too far to walk, a cargo bike or bike trailer can also effectively transport the gear. It’s crucial to have strong bungee cords or smaller-sized tie-downs on hand to secure the load during transportation. Plus, loading in at events becomes much easier since most events have some form of street closure for cars.
Storage logistics can be tricky, depending on the resources available to your organization. In my experience, I’ve stored current bike valet equipment in my own house. However, as we upgrade our equipment, I’m collaborating with a local community group to secure a small storage space specifically for housing the equipment. You may want to see what community partners you can work with to get some storage.
Implementing Bike Valet Services at Events
Once your organization has its logistics in place, the next step is reaching out to events to offer bike valet services. Some organizations charge events for this service, which can be beneficial if you’re able to compensate volunteers, attracting more help. However, it’s ultimately up to your organization to decide whether to charge for the service. Personally, I prefer offering the service free of charge to events, viewing it as a neighborhood and community benefit. Regardless of whether you charge the event producer, it’s not recommended to charge riders for using the valet service.
When reaching out to events, it’s helpful to request event tickets or other perks to distribute to volunteers, as this is often the best way to incentivize assistance. My own journey into bike valet services was fueled by a desire to attend more events while still enjoying the benefits of biking, and volunteering for bike valet provided that perfect balance.
Once an event agrees to implement bike valet, I recommend scheduling a meeting to discuss logistics and marketing strategies. Knowing the exact location of the valet and having any questions answered beforehand is crucial. Typically, positioning the valet near the event entrance is ideal. For multi-day events, it’s essential to establish a contact person and inquire about storing equipment within the event’s secure perimeter overnight.
During the meeting or via email correspondence, it’s important to ask if your organization can be included on the event map and provide your logo if you wish to have it displayed at the bike valet location. While some events may not prioritize the promotion of bike valet, it’s crucial to engage your organization and community members in spreading the word. Effective marketing can significantly increase the number of attendees who choose to bike to the event. Many attendees make transportation decisions in advance, so ensuring they’re aware of safe and secure bike valet parking options ahead of time is essential to encourage biking to the event.
Once you are set up and running the bike valet program, I recommend creating a webpage that event organizations can reach out to for bike valet services for their events. This can help legitimize your service to event producers and make it easier for you to participate in larger events.
Running the Service
Once you are confirmed for the event, you will want to conduct community outreach for volunteers. An online sign-up sheet makes it a lot easier to organize shifts throughout the event. We use signup.com to coordinate shifts for people but any sort of sign up sheet will work. We have found that people really enjoy volunteering, and you will often have consistent volunteers helping out. I usually recommend a minimum of two people per shift so that there is someone watching bikes and someone valeting bikes. In larger events, you may need more per shift, depending on attendance.
I usually like to arrive about 30 minutes before doors open for an event to set up and catch any early birds who want to line up. Once you have the area set up, you can start to label sections to make it easier to find bikes. Colors, numbers, or letters – it’s up to you! When you valet a bike, you can write the section on their ticket to make it easier for you to locate it.
The valet process is pretty simple. You will take their bike, store it on a portable rack, or stand it up if it is a heavier or cargo bike, and tag it with a claim check. Write down the section it is in. They are welcome to leave their helmet or bags with their bikes. You will give them their ticket, which they will need to bring back to match with the claim ticket. I recommend telling them to take a photo of their number in case they lose the claim ticket. When they come back to claim the bike, you will be able to match their number to their bike. If you want to count your bikes, keep the claim tickets in a pile to count them afterward. I usually do a social media post to showcase how many bikes we valet during an event.
If it is some people’s first time using the bike valet and there is not an established relationship with your group, they may want to lock their bikes to the portable racks, and I recommend allowing people to establish trust with the community.
Additional Bike Valet Tips
What happens if someone forgets their bike?
While it’s rare for someone to forget their bike, it’s essential to have a plan in place in case it does happen. Here’s what I typical do:
Multi-Day Events: For events spanning multiple days, I recommend requesting the event organizers to store forgotten bikes within the overnight secure perimeter. In most cases, owners return the following morning when the event reopens to retrieve their bikes from the bike valet.
Single-Day or Last-Day Events: In situations where it’s a single-day event or the final day of a multi-day event, we relocate forgotten bikes to a trusted community partner for safekeeping in storage.
In the event that someone realizes they’ve left their bike behind, they can contact us through direct message or social media. However, we never post an actual photo of the bike online. Instead, we ask the individual to provide proof of ownership, either by presenting their ticket, sending us a photo of the bike, or a detailed description. This ensures that the rightful owner can claim their bike securely.
How much space does it take up?
The amount of space needed for a bike valet service depends on the size of the event, but typically, bike valet can accommodate a setup in the equivalent of two regular car parking spaces, along with some room for a table. It’s essential to ensure that the event has adequate fencing to establish a designated entrance to the bike valet area. Having a single entrance streamlines the process for both attendees and volunteers.
In anticipation of potential growth or increased demand, I always request additional space from the event organizers. This proactive approach ensures that we can expand our setup if needed, without causing disruption or inconvenience to the event or its attendees. By planning ahead and being adaptable, you can effectively meet the needs of the event while providing a great bike valet experience.
What about escooters, skateboards, and one-wheelers?
When it comes to what items your group is willing to valet, the choice ultimately rests with your organization. Personally, I’m open to valeting anything that isn’t a car. You’d be surprised at the variety of items people will ask you to valet. I’ve handled everything from strollers and wagons to even a golf cart.
Events with clear bag policies and no lockers often see attendees requesting to check in bags and other belongings at the bike valet. While this decision is entirely up to your organization, I find valeting these additional items to be rewarding. It not only fosters more connections with the community but also sparks interest in biking among a wider audience.
Offering valet services for various items can also lead to increased donations. The more objects you can valet, the more opportunities you have to engage with attendees and promote biking as a convenient, fun, and sustainable transportation option. By embracing this flexibility, your bike valet service can make a significant impact on community engagement and support.
Thank you!
I hope you found value in this ‘How To Urbanist’ guide on setting up a bike valet. If you’re unfamiliar with the term ‘urbanist’ or the concept of urbanism, check out my blog I wrote on it here! You may be surprised to discover that many biking enthusiasts are urbanists, even without realizing it.