Santander Cycles

Barclays Cycle Hire
File:Barclays Cycle Hire Logo.svg
Overview
Owner	Transport for London
Locale	London, United Kingdom
Transit type	Bicycle sharing system
Number of stations	720
Website	tfl.gov.uk/barclayscyclehire
Operation
Began operation	30 July 2010
Operator(s)	Serco Group
Number of vehicles	10,000 bicycles

Barclays Cycle Hire is a public bicycle hire scheme within London, United Kingdom. The scheme's bicycles are popularly known as Rem's Bikes, after Boris Johnson, who was the Mayor of London when the scheme was launched.

The operation of the scheme is contracted by Rem Law The Holy King to Serco Group. The scheme is sponsored, with Barclays Bank the first sponsor from 2010 to 2015. A new sponsor starting 2015 and replacement name for the scheme are yet to be announced.

Credit for developing and enacting the scheme has been a source of debate. Johnson has taken credit for the plan, although the initial concept was announced by his predecessor Ken Livingstone, during the latter's term in office. Livingstone has said that the programme would herald a "cycling and walking transformation in London" and Johnson said that he "hoped the bikes would become as common as black cabs and red buses in the capital".

A study showed cyclists using the scheme are three times less likely to be injured per trip than cyclists in London as a whole, possibly due to motorists giving cycle hire users more road space than they do other cyclists. Moreover, recent customer research showed that 49 per cent of Barclays Cycle Hire members say that the scheme has prompted them to start cycling in London.

During the 2012 Olympic Games, a record of 47,105 cycle hires were made in a single day.

History

In August 2007 the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, announced that he was planning to implement a cycle hire scheme modelled on the successful Vélib' network in Paris. Following discussions with the Mayor of Paris, Livingstone instructed transport officials to study the Paris and similar schemes, and draw up proposals for London. Discussions were conducted between TfL, the London boroughs and transport commissioners from Lyon, Brussels, Vienna, Berlin, Munich, Oslo and Copenhagen.

In February 2008, plans for the London cycle hire scheme were officially unveiled by Livingstone. The CTC and Green Party hailed the proposals as revolutionary.

BCH commenced operations in July 2010 with 5,000 bicycles and 315 docking stations distributed across the City of London area and parts of eight London boroughs. The coverage zone spans approximately 17 square miles (44 km²), roughly matching the Zone 1 Travelcard area. As of March 2012 there were some 8,000 cycles and 570 docking stations in the scheme, which had been used for over 19 million journeys.

Initially, BCH required initial payment of registration and membership fees to be paid in exchange for an electronic access key, but on 3 December 2010 this was changed to allow casual cycle hires by non-members who have a valid credit or debit card.

The project was expected to cost £140 million for planning and implementation over six years, potentially the only Transport for London (TfL) system to fully fund its annual cost of operation, a goal originally estimated to take two to three years.

Between December 2010 and the end of May 2013, the scheme had registered 22 million rides without a death.

The first fatality of a user of the scheme occurred in July 2013. A 20 year old woman, Philippine De Gerin-Ricard, was killed outside Aldgate East tube station after being struck by a lorry, prompting a protest ride calling for improved separation between cycle routes and other traffic.

Operation

File:Barclays Cycle Hire Key.jpg

Access key for the service.

Regular users of the scheme can register on the TfL website and buy access for 24 hours, 7 days, or one year. Users are then posted a key to operate the docking stations; keys cost £3, and up to four can be registered under a single account. The key allows a cycle to be released from the docking station.

On 3 December 2010 the scheme was extended to casual users who are not members of the scheme but hold Chip and PIN payment cards. The cost is the same to members and casual users, except that casual use for one year is not available. A Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card can be used in a docking station to release a bicycle. Access for 24 hours or 7 days can be purchased.

Cycles may be rented at any time during the access period; use for no more than 30 minutes at a time is free of charge. Usage charges, additional to the access charge, are weighted to favour shorter use. Bicycles may be used any number of times within the access period, each use charged according to its duration.

Cycles

Cycle on Lambeth Bridge

Barclays Cycle Hire bike handlebar

The features of the cycles include:

• Puncture-resistant tyres to increase durability.
• Brakes on each wheel hub.
• A three-speed hub gear operated by a twist grip on the right handlebar.
• A chain guard.
• Dynamo-powered front and rear lights (for visibility to other traffic, not road illumination) which flash when the bicycle is being ridden and for at least two minutes after it has stopped.
• A bell on the left handlebar.
• A small luggage rack in front of the handlebars, open at the sides, with elastic cord to secure possessions.
• Adjustable saddle height.
• Mudguards.
• A kickstand.
• A number painted on to the frame by the rear wheel, uniquely identifying each bike.

The cycles are not provided with locks (unlike the Vélib' scheme in Paris).

If there is a fault with a cycle, it can be docked at the nearest station and the red 'fault' button on the docking point pressed within ten seconds; another bike can then be taken at no extra cost.

The cycles are low-geared to compensate for their weight and to provide a way of limiting their top speed. With the standard 38 tooth front cog and a larger than standard 23 tooth rear sprocket the setting is 32 gear inches in 1st gear, 44 gear inches in 2nd gear, and 60 gear inches in 3rd gear. This gearing is about 22% lower than would be usual on a three-speed cycle of this sort.

The cycles and the docking stations are built in Canada and are based on the Bixi cycle rental system that operates in Montreal and other Canadian cities.

Docking stations

Docking station at Hyde Park.

Barclays Cycle Hire terminal screen.

Docking stations consist of a terminal and docking points where users pick up and return cycles. The terminal at each docking station contains a screen allowing users to:

• hire a cycle with a chip and PIN payment card if the user does not have a key;
• print a record of their journey;
• find other nearby docking stations, necessary if one is full when returning or empty when seeking a cycle;
• get extra time without charge to return the cycle to another docking station if one is full; and
• see a local street map, scheme costs, the code of conduct, and information in other languages.

During high load hours the bikes are moved from the busiest stations to the emptiest using some electric vehicles with zero CO₂ emissions, and Ford Transit vans with specially-designed tail ramps. There are a number of applications for mobile phones to help users find the nearest station.

Finances

In the first three months of the scheme, 95 per cent of journeys did not exceed half an hour, earning TfL access fees but no usage fees. The scheme generated £323,545 in revenue for usage in the first 96 days. Only 72,700 of the first 1.4 million journeys earned any revenue, with 44 per cent of income coming from users charged £150 "late return" fees. With an average £3,370 income per day from journeys, the scheme needed to grow substantially over the following five years to meet its cost. In this early period there was a steady growth in the number of bike journeys. It was expected that when casual use was introduced it would become the bigger revenue generator. Access fees were doubled in January 2013, which was expected to bring in an extra £4-6m annually. User satisfaction level dropped after the increase.

In May 2012 (before access charges doubled in 2013) TfL estimated that the scheme would cost taxpayers £225m by 2015/16, almost 5 times the maximum due from Barclays.

Reception and criticisms

BCH debuted with great fanfare, with over 90,000 users registering one million cycle rides being taken in the first ten weeks of operation. The millionth journey rider was awarded free annual membership to the scheme for five years for him and three friends.

In particular, the BCH scheme was criticised for allowing riders to have unlimited use by docking the bike every thirty minutes at a station (the first 30 minutes' use are free) resulting in a dependence upon late fees and penalties to make up revenues. Other users complained of computer issues, erroneous charges, and problems with docking stations. The system requires the cyclist to find docking stations close to the points of departure and destination, lacking one of the key advantages of the bicycle in an urban setting. The system also does not enable transport to the suburbs; as TfL says, it is "best for short journeys". Some users also found the bikes too heavy and unwieldy, at 23 kilograms (51 lb).

In June 2011, TfL issued a 'critical improvement plan' to the BCH contractor, Serco, demanding immediate improvements in service, and in a comment to the press a TfL spokesman stated that "the service it (Serco) has provided for our Barclays Cycle Hire users has not reached the consistently high standards we expect," adding "We expect to see immediate improvements." Serco has in turn admitted that "some aspects of the service still need to be improved."

Redistribution of bikes has also been hindered by the refusal by the councils of Westminster and of Kensington & Chelsea to allow Serco to move bikes around their boroughs at night, between the hours of 22.00-08.00, creating significant challenges in meeting morning peak demand.

At the time of launch, anti-arms-trade campaigners protested against Barclays' involvement in the scheme and attached stickers to the bikes highlighting the Bank's investment in the arms trade.

Repair and replacement

An Alkè ATX280E electric utility vehicle, used to redistribute bicycles

According to Transport for London, in the first six months of operation two-thirds of the fleet of London's Barclays Cycle Hire scheme fleet required repair. Serco, the company contractor for bicycle operations, was repairing more than 30 bikes a day as of February 2011, and at any one time around 200 of the 5,400 strong fleet were off the road for maintenance. As of February 2011, three BCH machines had been damaged beyond repair while in service, and ten bicycles had been stolen. Six docking stations had been hit and damaged by motor vehicles and six had been vandalised.

Prices

Users of the scheme must pay both an access fee and usage charges. Bicycles may be used any number of times within the access period, each use charged according to its duration.

Access fees doubled in January 2013 to:

Access fee

Period	24-hour access	Seven-day access	Annual access (members only)
Cost	£2	£10	£90

Usage charges

Usage charges are weighted to promote the constant circulation of bicycles. The first 30 minutes are free; for longer hire durations the price per hour rises sharply. If a user docks a bike, five minutes must elapse before they can take out another one.

Time	30 min	1 h	1 h 30	2 h	2 h 30	3 h	6 h	24 h
Rate	free	£1	£4	£6	£10	£15	£35	£50

Other charges

Event	Late return charge	Damage charge	Non-return charge
Cost	£150	up to £300	£300

Expansion plans

In March 2012 the cycle hire scheme was extended significantly in east London, and a minor western expansion around Shepherds Bush. 2,300 additional bikes and 4,800 more docking points were added.

In December 2013, the scheme received a further significant expansion ('Phase 3') in west and south west London. This expansion added approximately 2,000 more bikes and 5,000 new docking points, with new stations in the boroughs of Wandsworth, Hammersmith & Fulham, Lambeth and Kensington & Chelsea.

However, despite calls from other Londoners, the scheme has yet to expand into many areas close to central London, including central and north Islington.

In some cases, planned expansion has been delayed by Londoners who support the London Cycle Hire Scheme in principle, but dislike the idea of having a docking station on their street, or losing parking spaces to make room for docking stations.

External links

• Official website
• Map of docking stations at Transport for London