London’s long-awaited mass cycle hire scheme has launched today with 315 docking stations and 5000 bikes available.
Dubbed ‘Boris Bikes’ by its fans, the scheme stretches from Notting Hill Gate to Wapping, and from Regents Park to Borough Market. The docking stations that house the bikes when they are not being used are dotted every 300m in central London.
Speaking at the launch event this morning the mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: “Overnight racks have been filled with thousands of gleaming machines that will transform the look and feel of our streets and become as commonplace on our roads as black cabs and red buses.”
A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA) said: “This scheme will give thousands of people the opportunity to discover that bicycles are the quickest, cleanest and most styish way to get around the city.”
How much does it cost to use the Boris Bikes?
In order to use the scheme you need to pay £3 for a key, which needs to be activated before it will release a bike. Thereafter the following fees aply:
| Membership fee | |
|---|---|
| Daily rate | £1 |
| Weekly rate | £5 |
| Annual rate | £45 |
| Hire charges | increases the longer you keep the bike |
|---|---|
| Less than 30 minutes | no charge |
| Less than 60 minutes | £1 |
| Less than 90 minutes | £4 |
| Less than 120 minutes | £6 |
| Less than 150 minutes | £10 |
| Less than £180 minutes | £15 |
| Less than 6 hours | £35 |
| Less than 24 hours | £50 |
To sign up for daily, weekly or annual memberships visit www.tfl.gov.uk/barclayscyclehire
What are the London cycle hire bikes like to ride?
The Barclays Bikes will be ridden off and into kerbs, dropped, scraped and generally made to work hard for a living, but a test ride suggests the bikes are up to the job.
Whilst not the lightest of machines, the bikes feel sure-footed on the road – a quality that will reassure novice riders. The gears are easy to operate and the bike’s lights are on permanently. Verdict: Well-designed, easy to ride and tough
The history of mass cycle hire schemes
| A history of cycle hire schemes | …the highs and the lows |
|---|---|
| The “White Bikes” project | in the 1960s free bikes were offered in Amsterdam, many of which ended their life in the canals |
| Copenhagen | a not-for profit foundation has operated a free-to-use bike hire scheme seasonally since 1995 |
| Bikeabout | Started in 1996 at Portsmouth university, this was the first electronically managed cycle hire scheme |
| Velib | The Paris scheme is popular but has suffered its own share of problem, including ‘Velib extreme’ – stunt riding that takes its toll on the bicycles |
| Watch a film of ‘Velib extreme’ riding |
Cycle insurance
Cycle insurance from the ETA includes new-for-old, cover for accidental damage, £1m third party insurance, personal accident cover and if you breakdown, we will even come out and recover you and your bike. Get an instant online quote below.
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