Santander Cycles (formerly Barclays Cycle Hire) is a public bicycle hire scheme in London in the United Kingdom. The scheme's bicycles are popularly and colloquially known as Boris Bikes, after Boris Johnson who was Mayor of London when the scheme began operating.[3]
The operation of the scheme was initially contracted by Transport for London (TfL) to Serco.[4] Bikes and docking stations are provided by 8D Technologies. The scheme is sponsored, with Santander UK being the main sponsor from April 2015.[5] Barclays was the first sponsor, from 2010 to March 2015.[6][7][8]
Credit for developing and enacting the scheme has been a source of debate. Johnson has taken credit for the plan,[9] although the initial concept was announced by his predecessor Ken Livingstone, during the latter's term in office.[10] Livingstone said that the programme would herald a "cycling and walking transformation in London",[11] and Johnson said that he "hoped the bikes would become as common as black cabs and red buses in the capital".[12]
A study showed cyclists using the scheme are three times less likely to be injured per trip than cyclists in London as a whole, possibly due to motorists giving cycle hire users more road space than they do other cyclists, although trips by hire bike users seemed to be much shorter on average.[13] Customer research in 2013 showed that 49 per cent of Cycle Hire members say that the scheme has prompted them to start cycling in London.[14]
As of July 2022[update], more than 111.2million journeys had been made using the cycles,[15] with the record for cycle hires in a single day being 73,000.[16]
In October 2022, TfL introduced new e-bikes to the scheme, the first docked e-bikes in London.[17]
^ ab"Docking Stations". Transport for London. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
^"Number of Bicycle Hires". London Datastore. Greater London Authority. Retrieved 3 July 2022.
^"'Boris bikes': The facts behind 10 years of London's cycle hire scheme". BBC News. 29 July 2020. Archived from the original on 17 April 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
^"TFL Announcement for BCH Operator". Archived from the original on 12 December 2013.
^"Mayor announces Santander as new Cycle Hire sponsor" (Press release). Transport for London. 27 February 2015.
^"Barclays' £25m sponsorship of London cycle hire scheme". BBC News. 28 May 2010.
^"Boris, Barclays and the Big Blue Branding". CorpComms Magazine. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2010.
^James Pickford (11 December 2013). "Barclays to end sponsorship of London's 'Boris bike' cycle scheme". Retrieved 11 December 2013.
^Thelwell, Emma (30 July 2010). "London's 'Boris Bike' hire scheme launched". The World in 2010. Channel 4. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
^Taylor, Matthew (9 February 2008). "City's two-wheel transformation". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 11 August 2010.
^"Livingstone plan for street-corner cycle hire stands". London: independent.co.uk. 11 February 2008. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
^Jon Clements (30 July 2010). "Phone fury man kicks 'Boris bike'- John Clements". Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 23 February 2011.
^"Safety of London Bike Scheme". rdrf.org.uk. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 19 August 2012.
^"Boris Bikes extended to south-west London". ITV News. 4 April 2013. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
^Cite error: The named reference :4 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"London celebrates five successful years of the cycle hire scheme". tfl.gov.uk (Press release). Transport for London.
^"Docked e-bikes now available for hire as part of London's record-breaking Santander Cycles scheme". Transport for London. 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
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