Cycle Hire London
Barclays Cycle Hire (BCH) is a public bicycle sharing scheme in London. The scheme’s bicycles are popularly known as ‘Boris Bikes’, after Boris Johnson, who was the Mayor of London when the scheme was launched on 30 July 2010.
Getting started is easy – simply hire a bike, ride it where you like, then return it to any of the hundreds of docking stations across the city.
Bicycles can be hired by the day, week or year – based on a small registration fee (£2 to register for a 24 hour period – you will need a debit or credit card to pay). Once you’ve registered, Barclays bicycles are free to use for the first 30 minutes (payments then increase depending on how long you use the bike). Below there is a list of prices, for more information please visit TFL’s Cycle Hire page.
| Bike access (includes unlimited journeys of up to 30 mins) | Extra ride charges (if you keep a bike for 30 minutes or longer) |
| Between 30 minutes and 1 hour – £1 | |
| 24 hours – £2 | Up to 1 hour 30 minutes – £4 |
| 7 days – £10 | Up to 2 hours – £6 |
| Annual – £90 (Registered users only) | Up to 2 hours 30 minutes – £10 |
| Up to 3 hours – £15 | |
| Up to 6 hours – £35 | |
| Up to 24 hours (maximum) – £50 | |
Other charges
If you keep a bike for over 24 hours: £150
If you damage or don’t return a bike: Up to £300
Extra information
- Your bike access period begins once payment is taken – not when you first use a bike
- The scheme accepts all major credit and debit cards (it does not accept cash or Oyster cards)
- You must be 18 or over to hire a bike and 14 or over to ride one
- Terms and conditions apply – these are also displayed on the docking station terminal
UPDATE
New cycle-hire stations in south-west London have been officially launched by the mayor of London.
Up to 150 docking stations have been installed and 2,000 bikes provided for Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Lambeth and Kensington and Chelsea.
London Mayor Boris Johnson cycled over Wandsworth Bridge on one of the bikes to launch the expansion.
Boris Johnson over Wandsworth Bridge
He said: “This expansion into great swathes of south-west London will enable even more people to hop on them.”
TfL said with the expansion and the addition of 2,000 bikes, the cycle hire scheme now covers more than 100 sq km of the capital.
Leon Daniels, managing director of surface transport at TfL, said: “Expanding the scheme will encourage even more people to take to two wheels in London, whether those journeys are for work or pleasure, and we hope it will also help to deliver wider economic benefits to these areas.”
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