Active travel — walking, cycling, and scooting — has been moving more and more into the spotlight. The push toward more sustainable living, cleaner and greener cities and healthier lifestyles has made it a leading actor on the eco-friendly stage. Local authorities are taking steps to encourage more people to take up cycling, like more and better bike lanes, free bike classes and mandatory parking in new developments. We love seeing the increasingly wider recognition amongst planners and councils that bike parking is a cornerstone of modern transport planning, and where the bike journey begins and ends is an essential measure to consider.
Transport hubs that cater to multimodal transport and facilitate active travel are becoming more common, and this is where we enter our favourite two-tier bike racks and shelters. When installed in the right places and paired with thoughtful design, they can become the foundation of an active travel hub: a space that supports seamless, multimodal commuting for everyday users.
What Is an Active Travel Hub?
Typically, a regular travel hub is a place that is a point of connection for different modes of transport, which traditionally included buses and trains, usually combined with car parks. Increasingly, we are seeing these hubs transformed to accommodate active travel.
However, an active travel hub is often more than just a place to park your bike. Is the top reason for existence to be a dedicated space—often near key public transport links, workplaces, schools, or housing developments— to park your cycle? Yes. Does it need to make it easy to switch from one form of travel to another? Yes. But if you think of it as just the cycling equivalent of a car par, you won’t get very far – a true hub can be so much more.
А really user-friendly hub should include the basic necessities like secure bike parking – and lots of it, which two-tier racks are a perfect fit for. If it is outside, it should be placed under a sheltered space to offer protection from the elements as much as possible. Naturally, it needs to be located in a place with easy access to public transport connections to fulfil its true potential. Ideally, the hub should include good lighting and CCTV for added protection and user safety. And to make it a properly outstanding place which is more than just a park and ride, there should be a few extras like lockers, benches and our favourite example of Dutch cycling ingenuity – additional services like repairs and maintenance, or at least the self-service equivalent – repair stations.
Two-Tier Bike Racks – the Perfect Fit for Active Travel Hubs
With more people cycling than ever, storage solutions need to be both space-efficient and user-friendly. That’s where two-tier systems really shine.
Two-tier racks are perfect for maximising capacity in small footprints. They work wonders when it comes to doubling the storage potential of any space without using unnecessary space. This is one of their top selling points and one of the biggest reasons why they are such a perfect fit for travel hubs, which are often in already crowded and busy areas.
One of the other aspects in which they shine is how secure they are—which is exactly what users want in busy and crowded areas where the possibility of theft is probably always lurking around the corner. Quality two-tier racks hold bikes in place using locking bars and stable channels. Riders can lock both the frame and wheels, giving them peace of mind while they go about their day.
Our two-tier bike racks are also made to ensure that there’s very little guesswork on the developer or facilities manager’s end. You don’t need to wonder what bikes people are likely to arrive with. Our modern designs accommodate everything from road and hybrid bikes to chunkier mountain bikes. This inclusivity makes cycling a viable option for a wider range of people.
The racks are also very easy to use, making them a fan favourite. They all have gas-assisted lifting mechanisms and sloped channels, making it surprisingly easy to lift bikes—even for less experienced riders.
Where to Build Active Travel Hubs
When talking about travel hubs of any kind, the most important thing is location, location, location. If planning fails here, whatever marvellous amenities and services you install will remain under or unutilised. So, strategic placement is key, and once you have that down, your next strategic placement should be one of high-quality bike parking two-tier racks to encourage active, sustainable commuting. Here are some great locations that would be perfectly positioned to welcome active travel hubs.
Train & Bus Stations
This is probably the most obvious one and the one that would get the most traffic. Two-tier systems are a game-changer at rail or bus hubs. They allow commuters to cycle part of the way and hop on a train or bus without worrying about where to leave their bike. They are also the perfect locations poised for multimodal transport.
Business Parks & Office Developments
Other great places are large commercial developments like offices or business parks. They have a natural amount of daily traffic and commuter needs, and employers can take advantage of new trends in active travel to promote well-being and reduce car dependency by making cycling to work safe, easy and convenient. Sheltered two-tier racks – indoor or outdoor, are a great way to say “Cyclists welcome.” and create a convenient active travel hub for everyone’s benefit.
Schools, Colleges & Universities
Younger generations are often the most open to cycling, as it is both cheap and healthy. Educational institutions are usually on public transport routes and can easily be persuaded to get on board with better active travel facilities to make coming and going safe and supported.
Tips for Getting It Right
If you’re planning to build or improve an active travel hub, keep these key considerations in mind:
Make it accessible and easy to use. High-capacity and high-quality bike racks will be the backbone of your hub – gas-assisted lifting and sloping channels reduce strain on the user, make it easy to wheel a bike into both layers and make sure your infrastructure lasts a long time.
In that line of thinking, pick a durable material and finish for your racks. Galvanised and powder-coated racks withstand the elements and require little maintenance. They will work trouble-free for years and keep your users happy.
Think about security. Two-tier bike racks are a fantastic place to start because of their inbuilt security features and the use of strong materials, but you should go the extra mile and add lighting, CCTV, and good line-of-sight from public spaces.
Add more value than the basics. Offer covered shelters, repair stations or even local cycling maps to help commuters feel supported. This will be appreciated and will make an active travel hub a truly valuable addition to the local transport infrastructure.
A Small Investment with Big Returns
Active travel hubs aren’t just “nice to have” anymore—they’re an essential part of building greener, healthier communities. Two-tier bike products play a pivotal role. They make bike storage more compact, secure, and accessible to the growing number of people choosing to cycle as part of their daily routine.
Whether you’re a facilities manager, transport planner, developer or business owner, investing in the right infrastructure shows you’re serious about supporting active travel.
