Giken – ECO Cycle – Futuristic underground bicycle parking system in Shinagawa, Tokyo
Posted in: Today's Chili
In Japan, bicycles are a popular mode of transportation and are great for a place like metropolitan Tokyo because they don’t need much space, don’t cost money to keep, they don’t pollute the air, unlike automobiles.
You will see a lot of bicycles parked everywhere here. Since there are many bikes, there are also various problems including a lack of bicycle parking spaces and bicycle theft. Also, especially during the morning commute, bicycle parking lots near stations get really crowded so that you need to line up to park your bicycle and it will take a lot of time. If you choose to park it on the street, it will be towed because it’s illegal.
To solve these issues, Giken invented a secure, smooth, space-saving underground bicycle parking system called ECO Cycle.
With ECO Cycle, what you need to do for parking your bicycle is set a device with a tag with an IC chip in it to your bicycle’s wheel beforehand, and set the bicycle and press the Start button at the entrance of ECO Cycle, and then it will be taken to the underground area. To get your bicycle back, hold your own IC card over the card reader at the entrance. Your bicycle will show up in front of you in about 13 seconds.
Please check out the video from Culture Japan:
