Transport for London has started submitting planning applications for hundreds of cycle docking stations, as the mayor’s hire scheme is on track for its May 2010 launch.
The first four planning applications are being submitted to Camden council, while the remaining ones will be submitted over the course of the next few months.
TfL has been working with its borough partners and the royal parks to identify the most suitable locations for the network of docking stations, which will be situated in the capital’s Zone 1 travel area.
The 400 cycle stations will be located every 300m so that people who want to use or lock up a bike will ‘never be more than a couple minutes walk away’.
Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: ‘Much like hailing a cab, people will be able to pick up one of 6,000 bikes, and zip around town to their hearts content – not only a quick, easy, and healthy option, but one that will also make London a more liveable city.’
David Brown, TfL’s surface transport chief, said the scheme would be a sustainable, environmentally-friendly form of public transport providing an inexpensive and convenient way of making short trips around the capital.
‘Available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the London Cycle Hire scheme will help alleviate congestion hotspots on the Tube and buses in central London, as well as build on the massive growth London has already seen in cycle journeys in recent years.’
The scheme will be available in the boroughs of Camden, Hackney, Lambeth, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Westminster, and City of London. TfL will be funding cycle training across the capital, and will carry out audits at each docking station to ensure maximum safety for users.
The scheme aims to generate an extra 40,000 cycle trips a day in central London, and will be key to achieving a 400% increase in cycle journeys in London by 2025 (Surveyor, 11 November 2008).
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