SoloBay
Motorcycle parking in Islington
Islington operates 199 solo motorcycle bays and every single one of them is chargeable. There is no free council motorcycle parking in the borough. We know because we asked under the Freedom of Information Act, and the council answered in September 2026.
All 199 bays are chargeable
This is the fact worth carrying with you. Some boroughs charge in the centre and leave the outskirts free. Islington does not. The council's answer was that there are 199 solo motorcycle parking bays in Islington, all of which are chargeable. If you are parked on an Islington motorcycle bay without paying or without a permit, you are exposed.
What riders actually pay, month by month
| Month | Motorcycle sessions | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 6,677 | £8,592.80 |
| Oct 2025 | 6,848 | £8,426.11 |
| Nov 2025 | 5,912 | £6,965.23 |
| Dec 2025 | 4,845 | £5,873.82 |
| Jan 2026 | 4,731 | £6,379.20 |
| Feb 2026 | 5,156 | £6,777.43 |
| Mar 2026 | 6,216 | £8,001.94 |
| Apr 2026 | 5,997 | £8,334.28 |
| May 2026 | 6,025 | £7,614.94 |
| Jun 2026 | 6,566 | £8,214.71 |
| Jul 2026 | 6,910 | £9,158.00 |
| Aug 2026 | 5,712 | £7,385.98 |
| Total | 71,595 | £91,724.44 |
That is 71,595 paid sessions and £91,724.44 in a year, averaging about £1.28 a session. For a borough of its size that is a high volume of motorcycle sessions, which tells you how much two wheeled commuting Islington absorbs.
Permits are how you cut the cost
| Permit | In issue | Income, 2025/26 |
|---|---|---|
| Motorcycle permit | 231 | £17,296.12 |
| Electric motorcycle permit | 7 | £434.77 |
Only 7 electric motorcycle permits were in issue across the whole borough. If you ride an electric bike in Islington you are in a very small group, and it is worth checking what the council charges you for a permit rather than assuming it matches the petrol rate.
How do you pay?
Through RingGo. The cashless contract commenced on 1 April 2026 and runs inside the main parking contract awarded to Marston (Holdings) Ltd, a four year contract from 1 October 2025 with permitted extensions of four and two years, capped at ten years in total. It was awarded by competitive tender using the open procedure.
One detail worth knowing: the contract is explicitly not exclusive. Clause 56 states that the services shall not be exclusive and that the council may deliver them itself or appoint others. So Islington is free to add a second payment provider without waiting for the contract to end.
The National Parking Platform
Islington's cashless parking contract was written with the National Parking Platform in mind. The specification says the council is monitoring its development and may wish to join during the contract period, and that if it does, the provider is responsible for leading the implementation and for keeping it updated. In other words the plumbing is already in the contract, which puts Islington further along than Hackney next door, where the council was still deciding.
What we have mapped in Islington
| On our map | Count |
|---|---|
| Motorcycle bays mapped | 76 |
| Bays the council says it operates | 199 |
| Car parks that also take bikes | 14 |
We are open about the gap. Our Islington bay geometry comes from OpenStreetMap and currently covers 76 bays against the 199 the council says it runs, so roughly 38 per cent of them. We are working on closing that. Treat the council's 199 as the real figure and our map as the part of it we can show you on a screen.
Find an Islington bay
Open the free web appNext door: Camden, Hackney and City of London.
More: motorcycle parking in London, what each borough charges, is it free?, what SOLO M/C ONLY means.
Bay counts, charging, permit, contract and revenue figures from the London Borough of Islington's response to a Freedom of Information Act request from SoloBay, reference 8373744, dated 28 September 2026. Bay locations from OpenStreetMap. Always follow the sign at the bay.