Cycling has been on the rise in Brussels for quite a while now, but it does not come without its hurdles. While you can’t fix security on the road or Brussels' never-ending uphill routes, there is a solution for the parking – bike boxes.
With a record one in five Brussels residents commuting to work by bike in 2025, many will be well aware of the limits of Brussels' cycling infrastructure, the tight spaces and bike theft can severely discourage those looking to try their hand at the two-wheeler for the first time.
The idea is quite simple: one such metal construction gives secure parking spaces for five people with joint access.
Operated by a regional public parking agency, Cycloparking, a subdivision of Brussels.Parking, the service offers about 1200 boxes accessible throughout the city for a cheap €15 annual subscription and a €20 key deposit.
Screenshot of interactive map showing distribution of bike boxes and communal parking spots throughout Brussels. Credit: Parking.Brussels
Parking your bike at such a spot gives it better protection, can free up some much-needed space at your house and guarantees higher security, compared to outdoor racks.
Cycloparking also continuously modernises its boxes with 4 generations released, while improving security even further and relocating units to areas with more eyes on the street to prevent theft.
Parking.Brussels spokesperson Pierre Vassar said that when the program started, about 10 to 20 burglaries were reported per year. Now the number has decreased to merely two or three, despite a sixfold increase in the overall number of spots.
Since a big part of the booming bike theft crime wave is related to opportunism, metallic sheds stop most of the thieves. However, Cycloparking does not ensure the bikes from being stolen.
It only provides occasional maintenance and cleaning to its facilities. Some online users reported maintenance issues with their bike boxes, but the operator maintains that these are very limited exceptions.
How do you rent one?
The application process for the bike box rental seems very simple. Firstly, you register with your address and info at Cycloparking, determining the specific bike box you will be allocated in the future within 200-500m from your home address.
An open public bicycle parking rack in central Brussels, not as safe as a bike box. Credit: Darius Korickij/The Brussels Times
Only those registered in Brussels are eligible. The closer you are located to the bike box, the more priority you will get over other applicants.
Cycloparking also accepts requests for new locations if there are certain areas where they are lacking. These are later forwarded to the 17 partner municipalities in Brussels, ultimately responsible for the decision.
And while monthly subscriptions are only €15 for most bikes annually, down from the previous €60, the real entry barrier is the notoriously long waiting lists. An average applicant should be prepared to face at least a year of waiting, with 12,000 Brussels residents stuck on the lists.
Addressing the concerns
The spokesperson of Parking.Brussels addressed some common questions regarding the project.
Commenting on the long waiting lists, the agency says they are very aware of the issue: "Personally, I had to wait two years to get a spot," Vassar told The Brussels Times.
"We know that the solution is not just to place more boxes, this is not practical. Instead, we are trying to develop local rooms and parking spaces that can accommodate more than five bikes per unit," he added.
As of recently, Cycloparking appealed to business owners and common residents to contact them about vacant space that could be used as impromptu communal garages. These would operate largely within the same model as the bike boxes. Many of these types of spaces are already operational and accessible with the same subscription, complementing bike boxes and public parking lots.
Another common complaint, especially in car-centric Brussels communes, is the fact that the boxes are taking away car parking space.
"It is a political choice by the region, made to promote cycling, which we simply adhere to. When agreeing to fund it all, Brussels decided to make it mandatory to put these boxes on parking spaces, not sidewalks. However, in the last five years, fewer than 1,500 out of 300,000 parking spaces were taken over across the entire region."
