How many motorcycle parking bays are there in London?

1,953 dedicated motorcycle bays across 27 London boroughs, plus 1,644 car parks a motorcycle can use. Westminster alone holds 723 of them.

Is motorcycle parking free in London?

In some boroughs. Westminster charges £1 a day, Camden £1.30, and Islington charges on all 199 of its solo bays. Others still have free bays. There is no London wide rule, so the sign at the bay is what counts.

How do you pay for motorcycle parking in London?

Almost always by phone, usually RingGo, using the location number on the plate beside the bay. Nothing goes on the bike, because wardens check by number plate.

Do motorcycles pay the Congestion Charge in London?

No. Motorcycles, mopeds and scooters are exempt from the Congestion Charge. ULEZ does apply to motorcycles, which need to meet Euro 3.

Motorcycle Parking London

Q: Can a motorcycle park in a car parking bay in London?

Sometimes, depending on the borough and the sign. Westminster lets motorcycles use ordinary pay to park bays at the normal zonal rate, while resident bays are for permit holders only. A car park, though, always takes a bike.

There are 1,953 dedicated motorcycle bays across 27 London boroughs, plus 1,644 car parks a bike can always use. Most of central London now charges, typically £1 to £2 a day, and you pay by phone using the number on the plate rather than anything you leave on the bike.

The short answer

Question	Answer
How many bays?	1,953 across 27 boroughs
Are they free?	Depends on the borough. Most of inner London charges
Typical cost	£1 to £2 a day
How you pay	By phone, usually RingGo, using the plate's location number
Congestion Charge	Motorcycles are exempt
Car parks that take bikes	1,644

Every London borough, by how much parking we hold

London's motorcycle bays are not spread evenly. Three boroughs hold more than two thirds of them, and if you ride in central London you are almost always within a few hundred metres of one. Boroughs with their own page are linked.

Borough	Bays	Free bays	Car parks
Westminster	723	1	70
Camden	360	1	32
Kensington and Chelsea	306	49	50
Lambeth	238	238	28
Tower Hamlets	104	58	48
Islington	76	1	14
City of London	59	59	12
Hackney	15	1	20
Southwark	12	2	35
Brent	8	1	37
Newham	8	0	215
Hammersmith and Fulham	7	1	16
Hillingdon	6	0	95
Wandsworth	5	1	19
Kingston upon Thames	5	0	40
Harrow	3	0	56
Ealing	3	0	35
Greenwich	3	0	60
Enfield	2	0	56
Hounslow	2	0	50
Merton	2	0	27
Richmond upon Thames	1	0	78
Haringey	1	0	58
Bexley	1	0	41
Havering	1	0	53
Lewisham	1	0	36
Croydon	1	0	67

Free bay counts come from our own data and are a guide, not a guarantee. Where a borough is mapped from OpenStreetMap rather than published by the council, its page says so.

What it costs

Between nothing and about £2 a day. Westminster charges £1 and that single payment covers every Westminster bay for the day, which is unusually good value if you move around the borough. Camden charges £1.30, or 66p for a fully electric bike, and only started charging on 10 February 2026. Islington told us under the Freedom of Information Act that all 199 of its solo motorcycle bays are chargeable, so there is no free council bay in the borough at all.

Full breakdown of what each borough charges

Free motorcycle parking in London

We hold 413 London bays recorded as free, plus 349 free car parks. The honest summary is that free parking has moved outwards: the inner boroughs have largely gone paid, while outer London still has plenty. There is more on where free motorcycle parking still exists and on whether it is free at all.

Can you park a motorcycle in a car parking bay?

Sometimes. It depends on the borough and the sign. Westminster lets motorcycles use ordinary pay to park bays at the normal zonal rate, while resident bays are for permit holders only. A motorcycle in a bay it is not allowed in can be ticketed like anything else. A car park, though, always takes a bike, and London has 1,644 of them mapped here, which is the usual answer when the bays near you are full.

Reading the bay

Most London motorcycle bays are painted SOLO M/C ONLY, which tells you who may park, not what it costs. We go through the signage in full on motorcycle bays explained and what SOLO M/C ONLY actually means.

How you pay

Almost always by phone. Most boroughs use RingGo and the bay's location number is on the plate, some also take PaybyPhone or JustPark. There is rarely a machine, so you need the number before you walk away. SoloBay carries the location number for every bay that has one and opens the payment app with it already filled in. Hackney is a rare exception that still accepts cash or card at a paypoint.

Riding a scooter or delivering for a living?

A scooter parks exactly where a motorcycle parks, at the same price, because councils charge by bay and not by engine size. If you ride for a living there are a few rules that catch delivery riders specifically, which we cover on scooter parking in London.

Leaving it safely

London is where most UK motorcycle theft happens. Some bays have a ground anchor or locking loop and some car parks have CCTV or staff, and SoloBay lets you filter for both. There is also an optional layer showing which areas have more reported vehicle crime, so you can judge a street before you leave the bike on it.

Find a bay now

Free to search and navigate, on iPhone, Android and in any browser.

Open the free web app

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play

Counts from our own dataset, checked October 2026. Westminster and Camden prices are council sourced. Hackney and Islington figures come from Freedom of Information responses to SoloBay. Always follow the sign at the bay.