Bike removed

In order to keep the bicycle parking places and the station area easily accessible, you have to park your bike in the racks. It is not allowed to park your bike at the same spot for too long and it may not cause dangerous situations. The municipality will remove bikes which are parked too long or incorrectly. These bikes will be temporarily kept in a bicycle depot.

Wrongly parked bikes (fiets fout)

In the station area, your bike has to be parked in the racks. Bicycles which are parked outside the racks for more than one hour will be removed. The signs with the text ‘fiets fout = fiets weg’ point that out.

View the map with all parking places and the area where wrongly parked bikes will be removed.

Bikes removed from pop-up bike shed

Was your bicycle parked on Saturday in the pop-up bicycle shed on the Nieuwe Rijn, Steenschuur or Lange Mare, and were you too late to pick it up? If the bike was locked and not secured to the rack, your bike is parked nearby. Was your bike secured to the bike rack? Please contact the municipality via the contact form or by telephone on 14071.

Abandoned bikes

An abandoned bicycle is a bicycle that is in a public space and has not been used for a long time. Abandoned bicycles are often still in good condition. But because they have been there for so long, they keep parking spaces occupied. An abandoned bicycle that is left standing will eventually become a bicycle wreck. The maximum parking term for a bicycle and moped in the Leiden Central station areas is two weeks. From January 1, 2024, the maximum parking term at De Vink station and Lammenschans station will also be two weeks. If your bicycle or moped is left at the same spot for more than two weeks in a row, the municipality will remove your bicycle. As of January 1, 2024, for the rest of Leiden, your bicycle or moped may be left in the same spot for a maximum of four weeks at a time. For the latter, the municipality mainly checks busy, messy places.

Bicycle wrecks

A bicycle which is in such a bad condition that you cannot cycle on it, can be labelled as a bicycle wreck. From 1 August 2022, the municipality will immediately remove wreck bikes, they will no longer be labelled. The wreck bikes are then destroyed. 

Collect your bike from the depot

Bicycles which the municipality removes from the station area, are photographed and brought to the bicycle depot (at Willem Barentzstraat 20). The bikes will be stored for a maximum of 42 days. After that, the bikes are refurbished by “Het Warenhuis” and sold again, or picked up by the ironmonger. The proceeds are used, among other things, to finance the maintenance of bicycle parking.  

Is your bicycle removed or lost? Via the website Verloren of gevonden you can find pictures of removed bikes. It takes 24 hours maximum before the removed bikes are placed on the website.

Are you going to collect your bike? Please bring:

  • The key of your lock
  • Your debit card (You pay € 26 when collecting your bike)

Address and opening hours of the bicycle depot

  • Address: Willem Barentszstraat 20, 2315 TX Leiden
  • Opening hours: Monday to Saturday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

The bicycle depot is located next to the thrift company Het Warenhuis on the De Waard industrial estate. The bicycle depot can be reached by bicycle, car and bus. Bus line 6 (Zijlsingel stop) stops nearby.

NB! In the afternoon it is busy at the bicycle depot. Come in the morning to avoid waiting.

    Don’t you agree with the removal of your bike?

    Why was your bike removed?

    • Your bike was parked outside a bicycle rack, a bicycle parking or a section intended for parking bicycles. A picture has been made off the situation and after minimally one hour a second picture will be taken. After that the municipality removes your bike and stores it in the bicycle depot.
    • Your bicycle was parked longer than two weeks in a row in a bicycle parking in the station area.

    As owner of the bike, you are responsible to park your bike correctly. You stay responsible even if your bike is parked by someone else outside a rack, a bicycle parking or section within the station area. This is a violation of the law.

    Do you want to make an objection?

    If you do not agree with the decision of the municipality to remove your bike? In that case you can appeal against this decision.

    Please note that you should refer to the reference number of the official report (ending with LDN) in your appeal. With your DigiD you can write an appeal online and send it right away.

    Exception

    Is your bike removed from a parking under supervision? We removed your bike based on the house rules. Because this is not based on the General Administrative Law Act, you cannot appeal against this decision.