Santander Or Barclays Cycle Hire Is A Public Bicycle Hire Scheme In London Editorial Photo

Santander Cycles formerly Barclays Cycle Hire is a public bicycle hire scheme in London, in the United Kingdom. The scheme`s bicycles are popularly known as Boris Bikes, after Boris Johnson, who was the Mayor of London when the scheme was introduced. The operation of the scheme is contracted by Transport for London to Serco. Bikes and docking stations are provided by 8D Technologies. The scheme is sponsored, with Santander UK being the main sponsor from April 2015. Barclays Bank was the first sponsor. the mayor 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 Cycle Hire members say that the scheme has prompted them to start cycling in London. More than 73.5 million journeys have been made using the cycles since 2010.