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London Cycle Hire Scheme

London's Barclays Cycle Hire scheme is a public bike sharing scheme for shorter journeys around the capital.

The "Boris bikes" (named after London's Mayor Boris Johnson) are available to casual users, as well as London Cycle Scheme members.

Swipe your membership key, credit or debit card, grab a bike and go – the first 30 minutes is free. When you've finished your journey, just drop the bike back to one of 400 locations in Central London.

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Barclays Cycle Hire in London

Barclays Cycle Hire is a public bicycle sharing scheme similar to the Velib bikes in Paris.

Bike docking stations across the capital give you access to around 6,000 bikes at 400 locations in London's Zone One travel area. You're encouraged to use the bikes for short journeys as a new form of public transport.

Cycle Hire docking stations are located across nine London boroughs and in several Royal Parks in Central London.

On 8 March this will expand to include 2,300 more bikes and 4,800 extra docking points across Hackney and Tower Hamlets, including Shoreditch, Camden Town and Canary Wharf.

After you've paid your daily, weekly or yearly access fee, your first half-hour of riding is free, with no additional charge provided the bicycle is returned within 30 minutes.

If you want to hire a bike for a full day or longer, rent it from one of London's many bicycle hire companies.

How To Join London's Bike Hire Scheme

The easiest way to use one of the new hire cycles is to sign up online at TfL's Barclays Cycle Hire web page for a membership key (£3).

The scheme is also open to casual users who aren't registered with the scheme. As a casual user, you simply need to swipe your Visa or MasterCard credit or debit card and purchase your access period: either 24 hours or seven days.