Bikes are an eco-friendly mode of transport for short and medium distances. V-Locker AG makes cycling a more attractive option by providing secure, automated bike parking towers with individual lockers where cyclists can store their bikes for a small fee.
Context
Thanks to the e-bike boom, bikes are now faster but also more expensive, and so there’s growing demand for secure storage facilities at train stations and in other public spaces to protect bikes from theft, vandalism and the elements. V-Locker was launched in 2019 to cater to that demand. The company offers parking systems that can be booked and operated 24/7 via an app and allow users to securely stow bikes, helmets and bags for several hours. The first two bike parking towers were opened in 2020 in Münchenbuchsee near Bern, Switzerland, and in Halle (Saale), Germany. There are now 13 towers across Switzerland and Germany, each with six to 120 lockers for a combined total of 530 lockers, which makes V-Locker the clear market leader in both countries.
Technology
The stylishly designed modular towers are up to 11 metres tall and use a paternoster lift system to move the lockers up and down. That minimises the ground area the towers take up, which is increasingly scarce and expensive in cities. The drop-off and return process is automated and the towers can be used round the clock. Bookings and payments are made via an app. Permission to access the locker can be shared with other people. There are plans to add other features too: for instance, it may soon be possible to get bikes repaired while they’re parked, or to use the lockers to send and receive parcels. It’s also planned to integrate the lockers into transport chains, for instance by enabling bookings on the SBB app.
Maturity
Bike parking costs CHF 0.50 per hour. In Switzerland, bikes can be stored for 220 hours, equivalent to a month’s commuting, at a cost of just under CHF 15. As of 2024, several thousand people have used the service and booked over 250,000 hours of parking. The founders launched the company with their own funds. In 2021, two anchor investors provided around CHF 4 million of capital. V-Locker expects to turn a profit by 2025. The company plans to rapidly expand from Switzerland, Germany and Austria into the Benelux region. There have also been expressions of interest in other European countries, the Middle East and the USA. In mid-2024, projects with a volume of up to 12,000 lockers were in the pipeline.
‘At this stage, we no longer see ourselves as a start-up, but rather as a scale-up that is aiming to achieve strong growth across several markets at once.’ Jens Kirchhoff, CEO of V-Locker AG
This portrait is taken from the second edition of the cleantech start-up overview published in 2024. Discover the full publication here.
