Bicycle parking pod with lockers and solar showers

Numerous bicycle stations have appeared on our pages before, including Cycle Center in Chicago, Bikestation in California, Bike Central in New Zealand and Cycle2City in Australia. Adding to Australia’s bike station innovation comes the Green Pod, a modular facility from Brisbane’s Penny Farthings Pushbikes. About the size of a parking space for one car, the Green Pod comes in two configurations: one with a single shower and changing room along with 10 lockers and parking for as many bicycles, and the other with double those facilities. The pod features a solar hot water system, electronic locking system, LED lighting activated by motion sensors, timed showers and a grey water treatment unit that discharges grey water into green areas. The unit can be integrated into indoor or outdoor applications, and it operates on a 12V DC system that can be powered by solar panels on the roof. Also part of the pod is a self-cleaning mechanism that can detect when no one’s inside and lock its doors for some self-cleaning, according to a report in Catapult. Access is via swipe card for registered users. The first Green Pod is now being used at Queensland University of Technology’s Kelvin Grove campus, and Penny Farthing is also talking with Queensland Rail about tailoring a pod for bicyclist commuters, Catapult reported. Indeed, the modularity of the Green Pod’s design and its diminutive stature give it the potential to be more flexible and easily accommodated than many built-in solutions. One to partner with early and bring to the bicycling masses near you…? (Related: Self-serve parking bay for bikes.) Spotted by: Treehugger via Raymond Kollau