Santander Cycles celebrates 8th anniversary with record month

Santander cycles Brixton

July 2018 was a record month for the Santander Cycle scheme – with more than 1.19m hires made across the Capital.

As of 30 July, 1.191m hires had been made – compared to the previous record of 1.18m in July 2016 – with TfL attributing the hot weather and Prudential RideLondon (28-29 July) for the drive in demand.

The figures were published on 30 July to mark the eighth anniversary of the scheme’s launch.

Since then, the Santander scheme has grown from 400 docking stations and 6,600 bikes to 800 stations and 11,000 bikes – making it the largest in Europe.

A total of 73,652,052 hires have been made and the most used docking station has been Waterloo Station – with 2,054,150 trips either starting or ending there.

The most popular route is a round trip starting and ending at Hyde Park Corner – made a total of 144,734 times.

Since the scheme was introduced, cycling in the Capital has increased from 540,000 to 730,000 average trips per day – with TfL saying it has ‘increased the availability of cycles, enabling Londoners and visitors to explore and commute on two wheels’.

Will Norman, London’s walking and cycling commissioner, said:

“Santander Cycles are such a fun and easy way to get around London, and I’m delighted that July has seen us break the record for the most ever journeys.

“Our new bike brought in last year seems to have encouraged even more people to use Santander Cycles, and I hope we can keep breaking records in the future.

“It is essential for Londoners’ health and for tackling air pollution in the capital that we continue to get more people cycling as part of their everyday routine.”

David Eddington, TfL’s head of cycle hire, said:

“Santander Cycles is helping to encourage the capital’s cycling revolution by making sure that Londoners have access to bikes at the busiest times and locations.

“Whether you’re travelling to work or visiting one of London’s beautiful parks at the weekend, Santander Cycles provides an active, healthy and sustainable way to get around this wonderful city.

“We’ve seen a real boom in the numbers of people choosing to cycle in London, with a 35% increase since the scheme was introduced, and hope that number will continue to rise.”


07 August 2018