Santander and TfL invite free use of hire bikes this weekend as July breaks records

Tuesday, 9 August 2016 Mark Sutton

London’s public bike hire scheme has continued its strong run of form, breaking its one month usage level in the month of July.

Having noted a marked increase in May on the back of the opening of new infrastructure, usage has continued to surge with July surpassing the prior July 2014 record, hitting 1,188,428 individual hires. Contributing to the record was an unprecedented 92,527 hires tying in with the Prudential RideLondon event.

In marking its sixth anniversary the scheme is to offer free 30 minute use this weekend, offering a discount code – FREE2016 – valid from 00.00 on Saturday to 23.59PM Sunday.

To benefit, simply enter the code into either the Santander Cycles app, or docking station terminal.

Since the launch of London’s cycle hire scheme in July 2010 more than 52 million journeys have been made on the cycles. There are now 11,500 bikes available within the city and 785 docks.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “Our cycle hire scheme here in London has been a huge success, with record numbers now using the bikes. The scheme has played an important role in encouraging people of all ages and backgrounds to cycle and it has allowed Londoners and tourists to get around the Capital and see new parts of our great city.

“I hope that this free weekend of cycling gets even more people enjoying cycling, encouraging Londoners to make it part of their everyday lives.”

Earlier this week CyclingIndustry.News sat down with Stage Intelligence to discuss what may just be a very exciting future for global bike share. Read more on the potential evolution of the segment here.