--- title: "We’re in Awe of Amsterdam’s Huge Underwater Bike Parking Garage" description: "The city of Amsterdam just unveiled an underwater bike parking garage for the city's cyclers. It's beautiful, efficient, and further disincentives cars." date: "2023-01-27" modified: "2023-01-27" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/amsterdams-underwater-parking-garage" categories: - "Advanced Transport" tags: - "engineering" - "europe" - "infrastructure" - "the digest" --- # We’re in Awe of Amsterdam’s Huge Underwater Bike Parking Garage ![The city of Amsterdam just unveiled an underwater bike parking garage for the city's cyclers. It's beautiful, efficient, and further disincentives cars.]() *\Image: Dutch Cycling Embassy\* ## Modern Marvel In the global effort to disincentivize emissions-heavy automobile use, no one is doing it quite like the Dutch. The city of Amsterdam just unveiled a truly remarkable underwater parking garage for the city's many cyclers, making it easier than ever for bikers to commute, clearing the above-ground streets of thousands of messy, jumbled bike racks, and ultimately, making cars that much more irrelevant in the famously bike-friendly city, [according to *The Verge*](). The garage is built at Amsterdam's Centraal Station, where, per the *Verge*, roughly 200,000 travelers — half on bicycle — pass through each day. In total, the build took four years, ran up a $65 million bill, and can fit 7,000 bikes at once. And trust us, [it really is a sight to behold](). https://twitter.com/sonamvelani/status/1615792671410520064 ## Pros v Cons Beyond an easier commute, other pros include wildly affordable fees, especially by American standards — underwater bike parking is free for the first 24 hours, and then just $1.46 per each additional day — and little to no delays getting in and out of the building, according to the *Verge*. You *do* need a certain bank card or bike tag, but the bike tag is apparently easy to pick up. The structure also houses a bike-share program, which is great for folks passing through. Indeed, the whole experience seems pretty streamlined, and inexpensive to boot. But there are some caveats, among them being that the structure reportedly can't house cargo bikes or increasingly popular electric bikes. There apparently aren't any e-bike charging ports, either. Even so, these oversights certainly seem rectifiable, and like small bananas compared to the structure's many merits. ## Global Leader The Netherlands is undoubtedly [one of the world's leaders]() in both environmentally-forward policy and [climate-mitigating infrastructure measures](). Authorities are well aware that [about a third]() of their nation — an area that includes their capital city — is below sea level, and are [continuing to build]() [on decades]() of very cool innovation towards a more sustainable, bike- and public transport-happy future. That all said, Holland is very small, and a project like this is relatively easy to rally support for when, as the *Verge* points out, [about 35 percent]() of citizens use their bikes daily. But it's still an engineering marvel. **READ MORE:** [*Amsterdam's underwater parking garage fits 7,000 bicycles and zero cars*]() \[*The Verge*\] **More on interesting engineering:** [*Scientists Propose Turning Skyscrapers into Massive Gravity Batteries*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()