I’m a little late off the mark with this one as I’ve been away for a week. However, it is worth reporting on.

Following the first year of successful operation and the completion of more than 6 million journeys on Boris Bikes, the announcement has arrived the scheme is to expand west. This will cover the boroughs of Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Lambeth, and Kensington and Chelsea.

This will take place over the next two years and be funded in part by the sponsorship money from Barclays. Who provided £25 million for a 5 year sponsorship. This will cover the Olympic period.

The scheme has proved very popular in its first year as you can readily see during peak hours and around popular tourist destinations such as Hyde Park. Usage of the bikes has peaked at around 30,000 trips a day.

Despite this success, the scheme has continued to experience technical issues. Many users having to call up the Cycle Hire centre on more than one occasion after facing issues undocking the bikes. Most of the issues appear to remain for casual users rather than those holding a cycle hire membership key.

The expansion means both the East and West of London are the first to see the benefits of the cycle hire bikes. The North and South will have to wait a while longer. According to Boris Johnson "We’re prepared to go in any direction. The sole constraints are time and money."

The eastward expansion which is set to be completed before the Olympics commence will see an extra 2,000 bikes to complement the existing 6,000 currently available. This will be achieved through an expansion of existing docking stations and new ones being installed.

In comparison the Paris Vélib bike-sharing scheme marked 20,600 bikes and 1,451 docking stations by the end of its first year. This generated 10 million dollars in revenue for the city. From then on, Velib was aggressively expanded.

Whilst the expansion is welcome news, much attention has been devoted in the past week to the protests held on Blackfriars Bridge. Despite calls from cyclists with overwhelming support from members of the London assembly and politicians it seems TfL are to proceed with plans to turn the bridge into an urban motorway.

See also:

1. How the London Cycle Hire scheme will look for casual users
2. Cycle hire bike 14964

I did the research because I wanted to add these places to the London Bike Shop iPhone app. If you’ve already downloaded the app then make sure you go to the App Store on your iPhone and download the latest version which includes bike rental places. For those of us without an iPhone here are the locations I found where you can rent a bicycle for the day without paying the extortionate daily cycle hire bike rates.

Cloud 9 Cycles

Rental of fixies and Dutch style bikes. £25/rental day

http://www.cloud9cycles.com/ | NW1 8RA | 0783 677 4422

London Bicycle Tour Company

Bicycle rental and tours. £20/day

http://www.londonbicycle.com/ | SE1 9PP | 0207 928 6838

Velorution

Brompton folding bicycles for rental. £20/day

http://www.velorution.biz/ | W1W 8BD | 0207 637 4004

On Your Bike

Hybrid bicycles and Trek road bikes for rental. £12/day

http://www.onyourbike.com | SE1 2SZ | 0207 378 6669

Foffa Bikes

Rental of single speed and fixed gear bicycles. £29/day

http://foffabikes.com/ | E1 1SA | 0207 481 2516

London Recumbents

Rent a recumbent bike. £15 per hour of rental

http://www.londonrecumbents.com/ | SE21 7BQ | 0208 299 6636

Smith Bros

Mountain bikes with full suspension for rental.

SW19 5DL | 0208 946 2270

City Bike Service

Hybrid bicycle, folding bikes and racing bikes available for rental. £15/day

http://www.citybikeservice.co.uk/ | EC2A 3EN | 0207 247 4151

Dutch bike hire

Not open in winter. Rental of Dutch style bicycles and tandems. £25/day

http://www.dutchbikehire.com/en/

TriandRun

Rents their own brand road bike.

http://www.triandrun.com/ | IG7 6DQ | 0208 500 4841

Southbank Cycles

Bicycle rental.

http://www.southbankcycles.com | SW8 2JU | 0207 622 3069

Inside the London Bike Shop iPhone app you can also see what times these London bicycle rental shops are open.

See also:

• London bike shop app
• London cycle cafes
• Barclays cycle hire
• Second hand bicycles in London
• Love my local bicycle shop

“Work starts today on London’s biggest cycle hire docking station”

As any Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme user will know Waterloo is one of the busiest cycle hire stations. In fact it has been so busy that Serco, the company who is contracted to run the cycle hire scheme, has been placing employees to manage the huge influx of bikes at rush hour.

In one incident there was even a bike stolen as so many bikes were being handed over to employees that it became almost impossible to manage.

By mid-December the new super station should be complete.

Waterloo however isn’t the only place with cycle hire issues. Perhaps the earliest criticism of the Cycle Hire Scheme was the lack of availability around key rail terminals. Places such as Kings Cross and Liverpool Street would also clearly benefit from additional space. It is often at these key commuter locations that space is at such a premium.

The addition of the larger Waterloo station would suggest that TfL are embracing the commuter as one of the key users of their cycle hire scheme. However, the motivation behind this move may just as easily be the additional cost of all the support staff that were required for the volume of hire bikes. Either way it’s good to see the scheme making progress.

See also:

• Cycle hire bike 14964 < my horror story!
• Cycle hire tips < insider tips to using the scheme
• Cycle hire routes < 3 great routes to try on a cycle hire bike

Image by Nic Price Flickr

Here are some of the tips from those pioneers of the scheme that have been leaving comments on London Cyclist and on sites such as the Boris Bikes forums that should make your cycle hire experience as smooth and as pleasurable as possible:

Check that your chosen bike has a rear wheel that spins smoothly by lifting the bike and spinning the back wheel.

If you need to do a journey that is longer than 30 minutes you can dock your bike. Wait 5 minutes. And then undock the bike again to continue your journey for free.

Use an application for your mobile phone to see where the nearest docking stations are and how many bikes are available there. There are great applications for the Android or iPhone.

The members key is money well spent. For £3 you can quickly undock bikes.

Be careful as to how you use multiple cycle hire keys system. People are reporting that activating one key will activate all four thus costing you money. Also people are reporting each key requires an annual fee and is not covered under the initial key.

Be sure you get the green light from the docking station when you return the bike. Check to see the bike has been correctly docked.

Print a receipt of your journey to check that the bike has in fact been docked correctly.

Be aware that popular terminals such as Waterloo and Kings Cross are likely to suffer from poor bike availability. The chances are you may have to walk or cycle an extra 5 minutes to find hire docking stations in less popular locations.

Leave any tips you have for first time users in the comments below.

Images via: Steve Punter and Charlotte Gilhooly

See also:

• Cycling apps for the Android
• What are your thoughts on the cycle hire scheme?
• 3 great routes to try on the cycle hire bikes
• How to use the cycle hire docking stations

It has been an eventful first week for the Cycle Hire Scheme. First we were told a few days before the launch that you had to pre-register. Then lots of people had problems registering and their cards being accepted. Upon launch a number of people reported bikes whose brakes were overzealous. Other people reported cycle hire docking stations not working. Lot’s of people forgot to register their cards and a few even got hit by big charges as they didn’t dock the bike correctly.

At the same time most people reported a completely smooth experience.

When I asked the question “Will you be registering for the cycle hire scheme?” the article received a huge number of responses and became the 2nd most commented on all the blog. It was fascinating to read through different people’s experiences and I was very glad to see TfL refunding those people who were hit with over charges. In this weeks Comment Friday I want to follow up and hear about people’s experiences with the scheme now that it has been going for 1 week. 

Did you try it? Are you finding the bikes are available? Have you heard about the spinning the wheels trick? Have you still not received your key card? Did you enjoy being a “pioneer” of the scheme with fellow cyclists? Will you be using it for your daily commute or for short hops? Did you manage to stay in your first 30 minutes? What do you think of the bike? Any tips for fellow cycle hire users?

Leave your answers in the comments..

See also:

• 3 great routes to try using the cycle hire bikes
• Will you be registering for the cycle hire scheme?
• How to use the cycle hire docking stations
• B&M Ixon IQ light review

Along with the key you also get various maps and information about staying safe. Wokingham Cyclist has posted about this if you are interested.

If you are part of the cool gang with one of these keys you need to “activate it”. This can be done through the London Cycle Hire website or by calling the helpline.

The process of using the key is as follows:

• Check that the docking point has no lights illuminated
• Before taking a cycle from a docking point, check that it is roadworthy (tyres, brakes, saddle, lights, bell)
• Insert your key into the docking point key slot
• The amber light will illuminate while your account is being verified
• As soon as the light turns green, undock your cycle by placing one hand on each of the handle bars and firmly pulling it out of the docking point.
• Remove your key from the key slot before you set off
• When re-docking your cycle, return it to any empty docking point which has no lights illuminated by pushing it firmly into place
• Wait until the light turns green to ensure you have successfully docked your cycle and completed your journey

Or as this TfL woman kindly demonstrated earlier today:

As you can see it’s so easy even a drunk person wanting to get home at night could do it. Though they would probably miss the key entry point a few times and then fall over the minute they ride off. Oh, and also they probably would have left the key in their other trousers and cursed the gods for not been able to just use the Oyster card.

By the way, the annoying clicking sound in the video isn’t the noise the docking station makes to let you know you’re about to hire a bike. In fact a cool sound the docking station could make the minute you put the key in is to have the recorded voice of a woman magically start playing so you can listen to how great Barclays are. I might suggest that to TfL.

I’ll leave you with this nice picture of the Mayors Transport Advisor Kulveen Ranger looking smug:

And looking less smug as a HGV is about to run him over:

Despite the dry humour and sarcasm that plagues this post I am in fact very excited about the Friday launch and will be there covering it for London Cyclist. It will be great to see all the docking stations around London filled with bikes ready for Londoners to hire and I look forward to using it. My housemate for one is very excited to have his key and will no doubt be one the first people to hop on these beautiful blue bikes.

See also:

• Will you be registering for the cycle hire scheme?
• Test riding the cycle hire bike
• Announcing the Barclays Cycle Hire
• Get your free guide to cycling in London

This can be completed via: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/14808.aspx

Upon entering your name, date of birth, relationship status, what you had yesterday for breakfast you’ll be sent a key that you then need to activate.

They key itself costs £3 and the obvious criticism is why couldn’t this have been integrated with that other famous key we have to London. The Oyster card.

Generally, the £45 plus £3 key is the only thing you’ll end up paying for. This is because most people will be aiming to stay within the half hour free limit. Thus it does make this one of the cheapest forms of transport around London (and most eco-friendly).

Some crazy rumours had been flying around that there would be volunteers redistributing bikes during the day. I don’t know who started that rumour but it is of course false.

In fact yesterday on my cycle home I saw the little vans that will be re-distributing bikes around the docking station. I was going too fast to take a picture and they were stuck in the traffic jam so you’ll have to imagine what they looked like!

So, will you be registering for the cycle hire scheme? and Why? Can you see yourself using it? Are you happy to pay the £45? Any problems registering? Opinions please..

Cycle hire scheme coverage:

• Test riding the cycle hire bike
• Announcing the Barclays Cycle Hire
• Delays to the Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme
• London Cycle Hire locations revealed

The bad news is that unless you register you won’t be able to use the bikes for another month. The reason given is that “This will enable TfL and its contractor, Serco, to understand and learn from how pioneer members engage with the scheme, including patterns of bicycle usage.”

In order to use the scheme when it launches on the 30th of July, you’ll have to have a Cycle Hire Key and it will need to be activated.

TfL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport, David Brown said: “Barclays Cycle Hire will revolutionise how we get around central London.  Building on the experience of other cities who have launched similar schemes, we and Serco will use the first month of operation to learn more about how Londoners engage with the scheme, including patterns of use, how we can best support customers and to enable the scheme to bed down."

A membership key costs £3 with membership costs at £1 for a 24 hour membership, £5 for seven days and £45 for an annual membership.  The first 30 minutes of any journey will be free.

This is a delay for the scheme and will mean a lot of people that have eagerly been waiting to try it out will have to wait another month. It’s not very impressive to hear about this now and it’s also a bit of a strange reason that has been given.

The app helps you find the nearest cycle hire station. It also integrates a clever little timer to keep track of how long you have been using the hire bike so you don’t go over your free 30 minutes.

See also:

• Cycle hire application for your iPhone
• Are people for or against the cycle hire scheme?
• The lessons London can learn from the Velo’V scheme
• 10 reasons you’ll love the London Cyclist newsletter

Design of the Barclays Cycle Hire Bikes

In Lyon as well as in Paris each cycle hire bike comes with a bike lock. This is a flimsy lock that can easily be cut by a bike thief. The result is a high number of thefts. In London the bikes will not include a bike lock. Instead, TfL want to encourage people to return the bike to a nearby cycle hire dock. This not only keeps the bike safe but it also means a higher availability of bikes for use.

Design of the Hire Docks

In Lyon docking a bike is a two step process. The second part is when the bike is locked. This means a number of people push the bike into the dock thinking they are done and leave. A thief would then easily come along and simply pull the bike out. In London things have been redesigned to be much simpler. It will be a one step process of pushing in the bike.

Additionally the design in London has been revised so it is far more difficult to pry the bike out of its docking station. Again this is one of the reasons so many bikes were initially stolen in similar schemes.

An increase in accidents

The introduction of the Velo’V cycle hire scheme did result in an increase of 6% in cycle accidents. However, luckily these were none serious and none fatal. This is a positive sign but Lyon and London are of course two different cities. The traffic in London is more intense and so is the size of the city. The worry therefore, is that the introduction of the scheme will result in headlines about cyclists hit on a hire bike. There have been some efforts made to introduce additional safety and training for cyclists. TfL run a subsidised cycle training program in all the London boroughs. There are various other safety initiatives being trialled.

Making the Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme a success

Velo’V in Lyon is a success story of shifting the transportation mode from cars to bicycles. Initiatives such as less car parking and lower speed limits have all helped this change in attitude towards bikes. In London there are worrying signs of not wishing to compromise the experience of motorists to aid the progress of cycling and other methods of transport. The scrapping of the extension to the Congestion Charging zone is one of the most worrying signs.

Walking around Lyon and using the cycle hire bikes you get a sense of the positive impact the scheme has had on the city. There is less congestion, less noise pollution and it is a much more welcoming place to walk around. The scheme has been so successful that it was quickly rolled out to a much wider area.

London may be heading in the right direction but simply introducing the bikes is not enough to really boost cycling in the capital.

See also:

• Test riding the new cycle hire bike
• Barclays announced as the sponsor
• Where is your nearest cycle hire stand?
• What everyone thinks about the new London Cycle Hire Scheme