Barclays Cycle Hire in London
moove2london on 14 Jul 2010Something very exciting is due to happen at the end of the month….
Barclays Cycle Hire is commencing in London on Friday 30th July.
With the huge increase in cycling fans in the capital over the past 5 years, it’s about time that a decent cycle hire scheme was introduced.
For those of you who have travelled to cities such as Paris or Amsterdam, you may already be familiar with the concept.
Basically, it’s a cycle sharing scheme for the public. In short, you pick up a bike at one of 400 docking stations in the capital and return it to another.
The bikes will be available at all times as it’s a self-service system.
The drawback is that this is not a free service, however, it’s an extremely affordable way to get around town.
You’ll be required to pay two costs in order to use the bikes:
- An Access fee, giving you the right to use the cycle hire
- A Usage Fee, which will be based on the duration of your journey
The access fees are:
- GBP1.00 for 24 hour access
- GBP5.00 for access for a full week
- GBP45.00 for annual access (this option is only available to members
The usage fees are:
- Less than 30 minutes for FREE
- Less than 1 hour – GBP1.00
- Max. 90 minutes – GBP4.00
- Max. 2 hours – GBP6.00
- Max. 2 hrs 30 mins – GBP10.00
- Max. 3 hours – GBP 15.00
- Max. 6 hours – GBP 35.00
- Max. 24 hours – GBP 50.00
Additionally, if you see yourself being a regular cycle hire user and fancy taking out a membership, it costs GBP 3.00 as a one-off, which will give you access to a membership key which is chip-enabled and will give you a fast-track access to the bikes.
You will be penalised with some quite strong charges if you return the bike late (GBP 150.00), damage the bike (max.GBP 300.00) or don’t return the bike at all (GBP 300.00) so there’s no room for chancers with this cycle hire scheme. It’s also worth bearing in mind that the 400 docking stations will be fully protected by CCTV footage.
In summary, if you’re looking to take quick, short trips around London and don’t fancy being stuck on a sweaty tube or greenhouse effect bus this summer, then the Barclays cycle scheme could be great for you. It provides you with an additional choice and unlike many other types of London transport, it’s available at any time of day or night.
For more information, please visit Transport for London.
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