Barclays Cycle Hire: Soon to transform journeys around London

From 31 July you can whizz around town on one of these for as little as £1 per day. Photo credit: TFL

Don’t own a bike but wish you could go cycling? Well, your prayers are about to answered in July: Transport for London will be launching a bike hire service across Central London in the style of Paris and Amsterdam.

The idea is beautiful in its simplicity: 6,000 bikes will be docked at stations strewn across Central London, available for anyone to take out at any time after registering. All you need to do is hop on one, bike to your heart’s content, and return it to any docking station. London Cycling Campaign is helping TfL to promote the scheme, and here LCC’s Mike Cavenett answers all the questions you might have in anticipation of the long-awaited launch.

Is it really free?

Mike Cavenett: There is an annual membership fee of £45, but the first half hour is always free. Then there is an exponential increase in the cost to take the bike out longer. The idea is for people to bike around for half an hour and return it, not park it around someone’s house, so that there are always more bikes available.

Note: One-day and weekly memberships are available at the rate of £1 and £5, respectively, so don’t fret if you can’t commit to a year! For a complete fee breakdown, visit the TfL website.

Are helmets going to be provided?

M.C.: There’s no helmet law here in the U.K., so we won’t be providing them. If we did, there might be health issues—we’re going to have 6,000 bikes, with 40,000 cyclists a day, so that would be 6 to 7 times a helmet would be worn a day. There are going to be hot, sweaty days, and we would have to sanitize the helmets. Biking in London generally is very safe, not many accidents happen, so wearing a helmet is more of an option.

How do you plan on helping first-time bikers be safe on the road then?

M.C.: For the first few weeks we’ll have people at docking stations with maps showing routes that are safe, so people don’t bike where there’s heavy traffic. Also, there have been studies that showed that more bikes on the road means increased safety. Basically, the more bikers there are on the road, the more noticeable they are to drivers. And we’re going to get many bikers out there!

Are there going to be bikes for children?

M.C.: Our bikes are not designed for children. They’re more one size fits all. You must be 16 to register, so that excludes children. The problem with lending bikes to children that other cities have had is that they take the bikes and disappear. You’re going to have to register with a credit or debit card, so that will prevent that from happening.

The official launch is 31 July. Hopefully that coincides with some sunshine!