Transport for London’s flagship Santander Cycles hire scheme has enjoyed two record-breaking months in a row, with last month becoming the scheme’s best June to date, with more nearly 1.2 million hires.
The 1.18m hires last month follows a record-breaking May with 1.1m hires and 2017, where an unprecedented 10.4 million journeys were made. June was just 7,000 hires off achieving the most hires on record for any given month since the scheme began in 2010. London’s heatwave has helped encourage even more people to explore the capital on two wheels. Santander Cycles has been able to meet this demand by providing extra bikes at parks during weekends and launching a new trial in Westminster and the City to provide more bikes at peak commute times.
Alongside the focus on parks and commuter journeys, the scheme has been made available in new areas of London with the recent launch of seven new docking stations in Brixton, which has brought the scheme to even more people. The record breaking months come at an exciting time for the cycle hire scheme, with TfL’s recently introduced next-generation British-built bike that is more manoeuvrable with smaller wheels, a lower frame, a new gear hub and a more comfortable seat.
Records were also broken on TfL’s Cycle Superhighways on Blackfriars Bridge and Victoria Embankment this month, where cycle counters were installed in February. These counters show that more than 1.2 million cyclists have now used CS3 and CS6. The highest number of cyclists was seen on 26 June, with nearly 13,000 bikes passing the counters.
David Eddington, Head of Cycle Hire at TfL, said: “We’re seeing an unprecedented growth in cycling across the capital, and Santander Cycles is helping to support this by providing more bikes at the busiest times and locations. Whether you’re travelling to work or visiting one of London’s beautiful parks at the weekend, Santander Cycles provides an active, healthy and sustainable way to get around this wonderful city.”
Will Norman, London’s Walking and Cycling Commissioner, said: “It’s fantastic to see record numbers of people enjoying cycling in this summer weather. The Santander Cycles are a brilliant way to experience London. I’m delighted that the increased availability of our new lighter model has led to even more commuters and visitors making the most of them.”
Keith Moor, Chief Marketing Officer at Santander said: “The Santander Cycles Scheme is a great example of our commitment to supporting local communities and helping people and businesses prosper. Through the partnership with TfL we have worked to bring excitement and innovation to the scheme, whilst making it more accessible, enjoyable and giving people the confidence to cycle around and explore this fantastic City. It's been great to see records broken and hires on an upward trend and here’s to a great cycling summer!”
Cycling forms a key part of the Mayor’s Transport Strategy, which aims for 80 per cent of all journeys to be made by cycling, walking or public transport by 2041. At a time of increased popularity of cycling overall, record-breaking figures for Santander Cycles show that cycle hire is playing a significant role in helping to further grow cycling numbers across the capital.
Since TfL’s cycle hire scheme was launched in July 2010, it has grown from strength to strength. There have been more than 70 million journeys made using the cycles and there are now more than 770 docking stations covering 100 square kilometres of London.
To find your nearest Santander Cycles docking station, visit www.tfl.gov.uk/santandercycles and to download the free app, go to the iTunes or Android App store and search for Santander Cycles.