You Can Now Hire Boris Bikes Using Your Smartphone

London’s causal cyclists are now able to get a ride quicker than ever thanks to a new smartphone app for the city’s for-hire bikes.

Launching today, the Santander Cycles App is free to download for Android and iOS smartphones, and is able to provide instant access to bikes.

All customers need to do is register with their bank card, use the app to ‘hire now’ from a nearby docking station, and enter the code into a docking point to release a bike for use.

In addition to viewing the nearest docking station and bike availability, the app is able to send a ‘bike release’ code straight to a user’s phone, which means they can hire a cycle without having to use the docking station terminal.

On Your Bike

“The new Santander Cycles app will make finding and hiring a bike in our great Capital city even more of a doddle,” said Mayor of London, Boris Johnson. “The app is packed full of handy new features and is part and parcel of our plans to take the cycle hire scheme to the next level and encourage more people on to two wheels.”

Santander took over sponsorship of TfL’s cycle hire network from former sponsor Barclays in February, meaning the capital’s bikes are now gradually changing colour from blue to red and white.

The network is the second-largest cycle hire scheme in Europe, and around 40 million journeys have been made using the bikes since it was introduced in 2010. Usage of the scheme rose by a quarter last year and is at a record high, with more than 10 million journeys made in 2014.

“We’re absolutely committed to growing and developing Santander Cycles together with TfL by making more bikes available, providing more docking stations and offering extra benefits in future to give Londoners and visitors to the Capital the best possible experience,” said Nathan Bostock, CEO, Santander UK.

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