Transport for London (TfL) has hailed ‘a successful decade of cycle hire in the capital’, ten years on from the launch of the flagship scheme officially known as Santander Cycles.
The scheme was introduced on 30 July 2010, under the then mayor, Boris Johnson, with 350 docking stations across eight London boroughs.
These numbers have now more than doubled, with 781 docking stations and more than 12,000 bikes.
An additional 1,700 new bikes are currently being added to the fleet.
TfL said the scheme has been at the forefront of a cycling boom over the last decade, with cycling in London having more than doubled since 2000.
It said more than 85,000 new members have signed up to the scheme since March - a 200% increase on the same period last year - contributing to more than 2.3m hires throughout May and June.
Previously, the scheme had never surpassed more than 50,000 hires on a normal workday – a record that has now been broken 13 times over the last seven weeks. Santander Cycles saw its busiest ever week between 25 - 31 May, with 363,000 hires.
Mayor Sadiq Khan said: ‘We are delighted that this summer there has been record-breaking demand for our Santander Cycles and we are capitalising on this by adding new docking stations, cycle hire hubs and bikes, which will make it even more convenient for Londoners to take to two wheels.’
TfL said the scheme has helped keep London moving during the pandemic. Its data shows that cycling has increased significantly during the lockdown period and beyond.
The scheme has supported key workers by offering free access codes for NHS staff. More than 60,000 free journeys have been made since the NHS offer was made available in March, with the most popular location for code redemption close to St Thomas's Hospital.
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