TfL has set out plans to expand the Santander Cycles scheme – on the back of more than 1.1 million hires during a record-breaking May.
Figures show that last month was the best May in the cycle hire scheme’s 10 year history, with 1,120,620 hires.
It also included a record number of hires in a single week – with 362,925 hires made between 25-31 May – and the highest total hires in a weekend, with 132,979 hires made on 30-31 May.
The free Santander Cycles hire scheme for NHS staff has also fuelled demand, according to TfL, with 30,000 journeys made since the offer was made available in March.
TfL says it is working hard to keep up with the demand, starting with rolling out eight new docking stations this summer.
Three new docking stations will be built around Clapham Common, improving access to one of southwest London’s busiest neighbourhoods and one of the area’s biggest green spaces.
TfL is also making 1,700 more Santander Cycle bikes available, bringing the total to more than 14,000 – an increase of nearly 15%
Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, said: “I’m determined that our city’s recovery from Coronavirus will be clean, green and sustainable and enabling more Londoners to cycle is absolutely central to this.
“I’m delighted by the unprecedented demand for cycling over the past few months. We’ve seen three times the number of people cycling in some parts of our city compared to before the crisis, huge demand for our free cycle hire scheme for NHS staff and carers, and multiple Santander Cycles records being broken.
“By adding new docking stations, cycle hire hubs and bikes we are making it even more convenient to take to two wheels.”
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