Daily access charge scrapped and replaced with monthly membership
500 new electric bikes are to be added to the network
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Transport for London (TfL) has made significant changes to the way the Santander Cycles scheme operates including the introduction of e-bikes.
It is scrapping the £2 daily access charge which allows unlimited rides under 30 minutes for the day and replaced it with £1.65 flat rate for a 30-minute ride.
There will now be a monthly option of £20 which will enable unlimited 60-minute rides as will an annual membership which will now cost £120, the first rise since the scheme was set up in 2013.
From 12 September, 500 e-bikes which use an electric motor to assist riders as they pedal, will also be available on the network. E-bikes will be able to be docked at any of the scheme’s 800 docking stations. E-bikes will initially be available to registered users only, for a fare of £3.30 per 30-minute ride or an additional fare of £1 per 60 minutes for monthly and annual members.
This July, the scheme recorded its busiest month ever, with more than 1.3 million hires across the month.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said, “I am delighted to be launching our first ever e-bikes for hire. Another first for London hot on the heels of another record-breaking month for Santander Cycles, which saw an incredible 1.3m journeys in July. It will be great to see these new e-bikes on London’s streets soon.
“I’m determined to continue building a cleaner, greener London for everyone and this includes making cycling as accessible as possible. The new Santander Cycles e-bikes will play an important role in helping to break down some of the barriers that stop people from getting on a bike, including fitness, age and length of journey.”
The scheme will be temporarily closed between 10pm on Friday 9 September and 6pm on Monday 12 September to allow its systems to be upgraded in preparation for the changes. During this time bikes that are on hire may be returned, but no hires will be able to be made.
Last year it was announced that Santander will continue to sponsor the cycle hire scheme until May 2025.
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August 13, 2022