Since July 1st 2012 cyclists are again required to pay for using the municipal bike storage facilities in Breda. A pilot was held in some of the locations where users could themselves determine the fee they wanted to pay, starting at a minimum of € 0,10. The average contribution for a bike parking place was about € 0,20, while the municipality had hoped for € 0,35. This led to a budget deficit of several tens of thousands of Euros.
The municipality explained some of the factors which may have adversely influenced the test. There was, for instance, little time to inform bike parking users prior to the start of the pilot, and many of them regarded the minimal fee as a maximum. Also, the introduction of an automatic pay machine was a hindrance to users and this also negatively influenced the pilot. In the meantime the municipality has decided to start charging a standard rate of € 0,50 in 2013.
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