Cycle London

Since its launch on 30 July 2010, more than 10 million journeys have been made using Barclays Cycle Hire. Commonly referred to as ‘Boris Bikes’ after Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, introduced them, the cycles are considered London’s newest form of environmentally friendly public transportation. The public bicycle sharing scheme allows people to hire bikes from docking stations across the city, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The system is designed to help make London a truly cycle friendly city. Currently, there are 6,000 bikes available from 405 self-service docking stations. So far, the scheme has proven to be an enormous success. ‘Take a cycle, ride it where you like, then return it, ready for the next person…It’s self-service and there’s no booking. Just turn up and go.’ Barclays Bank, who has its global headquarters in London, is the sponsor of the Barclays Cycle Hire as well as the new Barclays Cycle Superhighways which provide quicker and safer cycle routes designed for Londoners to commute by bicycle between outer and inner London.