Bike Tracking
Tag System
Tag pairs like these can be used to mark and organize bikes. Each tag should be unique. Distinct colors should be chosen to limit confusion and should also be indicated in the alpha-numeric code, to eliminate possible confusion.
Like any coat checking system, bike valets use tags to return bikes to their owners. Tags can be disposable or reusable, and patrons' copies can even be digital (although this is not recommended for bike valets with heavy traffic or poor cell signal). As long as a tag system is trackable, unique, and sortable, it should work.
Trackable - can be used to keep track of how many bikes have been parked, and when
Unique - it is not possible for bike tags and owner tags to get mixed up.
Sortable - bikes can be sorted by different types (e-bikes, oversize bikes, regular bikes) and by tag number/category so staff can easily find them without looking through the entire valet enclosure.
The BCCC’s recommended best practice for tag systems is using printed plastic tags in various colors. This tag system uses the TagTracker numbering system, found here.
The TagTracker numbering system, in combination with the use of multicolor tags, allows for the easy organization of bikes, with regular bikes and oversize bikes to be parked under different color sets.
The first letter on each tag should correspond to the color of the tag, to support colorblind staff.
The second letter on each tag corresponds to the area each bike is parked in, to be labeled in chalk, tape, or with signs (see the organizing bikes section above).
The area number on each tag should allow a bike to be found quickly in each zone of the enclosure
The use of these sequential numbered tags means that tags can be reused multiple times in a day. Tags can be kept in order on a string (shoestrings are an excellent material). Each side of the string can be tied to a carabiner, which can be fastened to a tent, fencing, or even to the underside of a table. Tags can then be used in order, one after the other. When bikes are then returned to their owner, the small and big tags (see below) can be reunited and clipped to a new “recycled tag” string, once again in order. This minimizes labour both at the end of the day (reordering tags) and throughout the day (shuffling and consolidating tags).