Bike Valet is now popping up at all sorts of high-profile events. What is it, how did it come about, and why was 2024 such a milestone year for the service?
Our next Bike Valet is this weekend 10 & 11 October at Diwali 2025! Find out more here.
The Bike Valet proposition
Bike Valet is now in every Bike Auckland newsletter, popping up at all sorts of high-profile events, all year round. From annual headline-grabbers like Auckland Writers Festival, Auckland Marathon (both with support from Barfoot & Thompson), Big Gay Out, and MOTAT Christmas Lights, to big one-offs like Coldplay, FIFA, and Women’s Rugby World Cup, and even more localised events around the region like Puketāpapa Aute Kite Day, Africa Day, Ambury Farm Day, and Kelmarna Festival.
In every case, the proposition is simple and clear: you arrive by bike, and we’ll look after the rest. With our valet bike parking usually right out front, you can roll up like the VIP you are and then swan on in and enjoy the event, safe in the knowledge we’ll take care of your ride.
Where it all began
Launched in 2018, Bike Auckland’s Bike Valet service was born from conversations at the time with our bike advocacy cuzzies in other cities – NYC, Silicon Valley, London, Vancouver, and across the Tasman – about organisational sustainability. We wanted to know: how do they keep the wheels turning?
We knew that around the world (and around Aotearoa), one of the things that advocacy organisations like ours do is supply their communities with services-for-hire. They provide work that fills a vital need for community and businesses alike, while also helping to support the mission.
In the case of bike advocacy, this includes creating and ground-testing maps, running big bike events that attract locals and tourists, delivering bike training for all ages, consulting on bike design and access – and, secure bike parking at events.
These are all fantastic ways to connect with the public, putting a “face” on the mission and making people on bikes a welcome, visible, normal part of urban life. And, whether delivered as a break-even proposition or a revenue stream, these services create all kinds of benefits, both tangible and intangible, for the community at large and the movement.
Choosing to run a valet bike parking service
For Auckland, valet bike parking was a no-brainer. Our Council and transport agency were leading big conversations about the shape of our city, celebrating the growing bike network, and encouraging people to show up to events by bike. The handful of racks outside regular venues like the Aotea Centre and the Town Hall regularly overflowed, so there was a clear need for more.
Auckland Transport staff had been providing temporary bike parking racks at events such as the Big Bike Film Night and Big Gay Out. Everyone understood there was a demand, and it would be smart to streamline the operation and work out who could provide it on a more sustainable, ongoing basis. It was in this context that Bike Auckland successfully took on the role of the official Bike Valet provider, freeing up AT staff to invest their valuable time in other active modes initiatives.
An eye-catching design
Next came design by Carol Green. The brief: cheerful and eye-catching, letting people know there’s VIP parking for bikes. The outcome: a jazzy 1950s inspired logo, evoking the groovy “drive-in” era.
While Bike Valet is now fully Bike Auckland-run, Auckland Transport’s initial partnership was crucial. Their investment covered purchase of key equipment (marquee, teardrop banner, bike stands, Valet seat covers), and they continued contracting Valet parking for a set number of events each year right up until 2023, securing social proof for the concept of Bike Valet, and a foundation of returning Bike Valet clients.
Originally staffed by volunteers, Valet is now so frequent that it necessitates its own pool of casual staff. Volunteers still provide much needed additional support; sharing local cycling knowledge with event goers, covering lunch breaks, and boosting capacity at events with large bike turn-outs like Big Gay Out.
1 year ago we even started delivering Valet by bike! Of course our snazzy bike trailer is complete with Carol’s bright and cheerful illustrations, spreading the bike-able Auckland vision.
The payoff
After seven years, and now fully a Bike Auckland-owned and run joint, Bike Valet more than “washes its face”, as the saying goes. That means it covers its costs, including staff time, insurance and storage, and generates a bit extra every year to feed back into the Bike Auckland budget for core activities.
Even more than that, Bike Valet is now a beloved part of the landscape, a normal and expected component of events in our region.
The people factor: priceless
On top of how many bikes we’ve parked, and the upwards trend over time, one of the numbers that makes us happiest is how many people get to see Bike Valet working.
These are by far the best and biggest numbers of all. Especially for a people-powered advocacy organisation with a vision for Auckland as a place where anyone can choose to go by bike wherever they like.
Bike Valet by the numbers
We’ve delivered Bike Valet at more than 266 events, and parked more than 10,590 bikes!
Bike Auckland’s financial years run from July to June.
What’s more, these events have a total attendance of over a million people each year. That’s more than a million hearts and minds – and Bike Valet is usually at the front gate, which means almost everyone who attends gets an eyeful of rows and rows of bikes.
This is the kind of advertising that money can’t buy:
- For the event itself. It’s a great way for event organisers to showcase their values.
- For Bike Auckland. Bike Valet is one of the best in-real-life ways to reach the hundreds of thousands of Aucklanders we know are yearning for safe streets so they can pedal to the shops, work, or school – or so they can let their kid go to the dairy / pump track independently with their mates. Valet connects us to these people, and to further communities, businesses, and organisations across the region, creating more advocates for our cause: a bikeable Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland.
- For cycling as an option. When people see Bike Valet, they feel empowered to consider cycling as a transport option next time. We literally hear the lightbulb moment “oh, we could have biked here” from people going past. This is mode-shift in action.
The power of consistency
The high visibility of bikes at Bike Valet creates a natural mode-shift, and events which consistently have Valet show an increase in attendees arriving by bike year-on-year.
In 2014 bike parking was provided at Big Gay Out by Auckland Transport staff. Our records show a total of 15 bikes parked.
Now, two to three hundred attendees are arriving joyfully by bike. After a consistent presence at Big Gay Out over the past five plus years, attendees now anticipate and expect Bike Valet. And, with the end of Point Chevalier Road closed to cars – but open to people – it’s a wonderful ride!
Imagine if those 234 people were all driving cars. This is why Bike Valet is part of the solution for event organisers struggling with the tricky issue of event-related congestion.
Now with the Point Chevalier and Meola Road cycleways complete, more people than ever have safe routes for cycling to Big Gay Out 2026, and we are super excited to see these numbers skyrocket even higher!
What’s on the horizon for Bike Valet?
Our Bike Valet service is currently managed by the highly capable Dylan Harpour, bike mechanic and visionary for a better Tāmaki Makarau by bike. He’s keen to get Bike Valet at more events than ever, boosting visibility of bikes as a mode of transport, and accelerating mode-shift across our region.
Our wishlist for the future includes decorating the Bike Valet e-bike in Bike Auckland colours to match the trailer, providing a smooth and professional visual impact.
And, we aim to bring some awesome sponsors on board, celebrating their support on our Valet trailer, t-shirts, and more. Are you keen to have your organisation’s logo or message front and centre of our Bike Valet, directly reaching an audience of bike-minded individuals, with an additional potential reach of over one million across the year? We’d love to hear from you.
And, as the service grows, we’ll soon find ourselves in need of a second bike and trailer for times when we are delivering Bike Valet at two different events at the same time.
Whether you plan or go to events, Bike Valet is for you
Event organisers: Bike Valet is a great way to reduce event-related congestion, create modeshift to cycling, and to showcase your eco-friendly values. If you’re keen to support more Aucklanders to get on bikes, find out more about our Bike Valet service here and get in touch for a quote. Make sure to include the cost of Valet in your funding applications or alternatively you may be able to bring a sponsor on board to cover it.
Attendees: You can help bring Bike Valet to more events by letting event organisers know that you want Bike Valet parking to be available. Share this webpage with them so they can find out more.
At events where Bike Valet is already provided, you can let the event organisers how much you appreciated the Bike Valet, and share about it on social media. This will encourage them to book us again for future events.
