London Mayor Boris bike scheme opens for business

Boris and bikes in front of Tower Bridge

London’s newest public transport system goes live with 315 docking stations and 5,000 bikes available.

Londoners have awoken to a new dawn for the bicycle in the Capital says Mayor of London, Boris Johnson

London’s newest public transport system goes live with 315 docking stations and 5,000 bikes available. More than 12,000 pioneer members sign up to use the scheme, with over 6,000 keys activated. New icons set to transform London’s landscape.

The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, today heralded a ‘new dawn’ in London’s bid to become the greatest big cycling city in the world as he launched the jewel in the crown of his cycling revolution.

Docking one of thousands of new bicycles at a Barclays Cycle Hire station in the shadow of the London Eye, the Mayor was joined by Marcus Agius, the Chairman of the scheme’s sponsor, Barclays, and London’s Transport Commissioner, Peter Hendy.

The creation of an easy to use cycle hire system was a key pledge of the Mayor’s manifesto.
Just over two years since his election, Barclays Cycle Hire is now set to transform the way that people make short trips around central London.

Available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the Capital’s newest form of public transport stretches from Notting Hill Gate to Wapping, and from Regents Park to Borough Market.

Londoners using the scheme can, from today, take a cycle from one of 315 docking stations based every 300m or so throughout the centre of the Capital, with a total of 5,000 bikes available.
People should never be more than a couple of minutes away from a docking station in central London.

Speaking at the launch event last week, the Mayor said: "Londoners have awoken to a new dawn for the bicycle in the Capital. 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."

Peter Hendy, Commissioner of Transport for London (TfL), said: "We expect this fantastic new scheme to generate up to 40,000 new cycle journeys every day in London as the Capital’s cycle revolution rolls on."
 

A membership key costs £3 with membership costs at £1 for a 24-hour membership, £5 for seven days and £45 for an annual membership.

Valere Tjolle
Valere Tjolle is editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite and Masterclasses current details and special offers at: www.travelmole.com/stories/1142003.php