High Tech Bike Parking

The United States has arguably made great strides in recent years to create and support the cycling commuter culture.

My former hometown, Chicago, created the McDonald's Cycle Center [yes, the sponsorship of the facility is dripping with irony, and vegetable fat] in 2005 to serve as a hub for downtown commuters. The amazing facility boast secure bicycle parking, showers and lockers, bicycle repair, and bicycle rentals.

But this recent report by James from Japan Probe shows just how far ahead of the curve the Asian and European cultures are when it comes to investing in cycling and the cycling culture.

WATCH this video report on an amazing new bicycle parking system that has opened at Kasai Station in Tokyo.

Customers who come to the station by bicycle need only place their bike on a small platform and hit a few buttons, and the system will automatically store their bike in an underground parking garage that can accommodate 9,400 bikes. When the reporter asks the machine to retrieve his bicycle, it only takes 23 seconds to accomplish the task. The parking system costs 100 yen for a single use, or 1,800 yen for a monthly pass.