How Much Would You Pay to Park Your Bike in an NYC Garage?

What’s a reasonable price for off-street bike parking? As New York City parking facilities start complying with the Bicycle Access to Garages Law, which took effect a little more than a month ago, the rates are looking pretty steep. This photo comes to us from reader BicyclesOnly, who says the $6 daily rate shown here (tax included) is the best deal he’s found — a steal compared to the $15 daily rate he’s encountered elsewhere.

The law, which requires parking facilities with more than 50 car spaces to provide space for bikes too, leaves bike parking rates to the market. So far, bike parking in garages is looking like a luxury service, which makes one appreciate the free workplace access enabled by the Bikes in Buildings Law all the more. But should bike parking rates be quite this expensive? That stiff 18 percent tax might be an illegal surcharge. Per the excellent wiki entry on this law by BicyclesOnly:

Pursuant to authority granted by New York Tax Law Section 1107, New
York city is permitted to collect taxes on the rental of parking spaces
for motor vehicles.  New York City does not appear to be authorized
to collect taxes on the rental of parking spaces for human-powered
vehicles, and so parking facility operators should not charge a tax to
bicycle parkers.

Streetsblog has a request in with the Department of Consumer Affairs to determine whether garages can legally charge this tax. We’ll keep you posted.