Request ID: FOI-1291-2122 Date published: 14 October 2021
You asked
Dear Transport for London,
This email is to make a request to Transport For London to get information regarding your Boris Bike scheme under the Freedom Of Information Act please.
I wish to ask you the following twelve questions as follows below:
• 01. Since the Boris Bikes were introduced how many Boris Bikes have been lost or stolen or disappeared?
• 02. Out of these how many were found and recovered?
• 03. Out of these how many have still not been found and recovered?
• 04. Since the Boris Bikes were introduced how many Boris Bikes were damaged beyond repair?
• 05. Since the Boris Bikes were introduced how many Boris Bikes have been built in total (the number should include both current ones you have and ones that have been lost or damaged or scrapped or are no longer in your fleet)?
• 06. How many Boris Bikes are currently in your fleet (this should only include ones that you currently have and not ones which have been lost or damaged or scrapped or are no longer in your fleet)?
• 07. Since the Boris Bikes were introduced how much money have you spent on repairing broken Boris Bikes?
• 08. Back in December 2013 a Boris Bike (in blue Barclays livery) was found in Gambia in Africa. You can read about it here - https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/boris-bike-turns-gambia-photograph-appears-show-hire-bicycle-long-way-home-9010959.html?amp - in this news article. How exactly did it turn up here? Do you have any information about what happened and how it reached Gambia?
• 09. Just two weeks ago at the beginning of September 2021 a Boris Bike (in red Santander livery) was found in Jamaica in the Caribbean. You can read about it here - https://www.mylondon.news/news/uk-world-news/londoners-stunned-boris-bike-turns-21461361.amp - in this news article. How exactly did it turn up here? Do you have any information about what happened and how it reached Jamaica?
• 10. Since the Boris Bikes were introduced how many times have the touchscreen machines been damaged or vandalised?
• 11. How much money did Barclays pay you to promote themselves on the Boris Bike scheme?
• 12. How much money does Santander pay you to promote themselves on the Boris Bike scheme?
Thank you in advance for any information that you can provide to answer my questions.
We answered
TfL Ref: 1291 - 2122
Thank you for your request received by Transport for London (TfL) on 17 September 2021 asking for information about our Cycle hire scheme.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act and our information access policy. I can confirm that we hold some of the information you require.
Transport for London (TfL's) flagship cycle hire scheme is continuing to go from strength for strength with its highest September hires in its 11 year history, as increasing numbers of Londoners returned to the office.
Your questions and our replies are as follows: • 01. Since the Boris Bikes were introduced how many Boris Bikes have been lost or stolen or disappeared? Between 31st July 2010 – 31st May 2021, 69,483 bikes were reported Missing During Rental (over 24 hours).
• 02. Out of these how many were found and recovered?
Between 31st July 2010 – 31st May 2021, 64,755 were found and recovered.
• 03. Out of these how many have still not been found and recovered?
Between 31st July 2010 – 31st May 2021, 4,728 are missing.
A customer is charged £94 when a bike is not returned after 24 hours; if it is still missing after 7 days a further £206 is applied. If the bike has been returned before 7 days but after 24 hours then only the £94 is applied.
• 04. Since the Boris Bikes were introduced how many Boris Bikes were damaged beyond repair?
There are a total of 2,202 bikes which have been damaged beyond repair, (as at September 2021).
• 05. Since the Boris Bikes were introduced how many Boris Bikes have been built in total (the number should include both current ones you have and ones that have been lost or damaged or scrapped or are no longer in your fleet)?
A total of 19,470 bikes have been commissioned since the scheme went live in 2010, (as at September 2021).
• 06. How many Boris Bikes are currently in your fleet (this should only include ones that you currently have and not ones which have been lost or damaged or scrapped or are no longer in your fleet)?
There are currently 12,109 active bikes in the fleet, (as at September 2021).
• 07. Since the Boris Bikes were introduced how much money have you spent on repairing broken Boris Bikes?
We don’t hold a separate figure for the cost of maintaining the bikes - this is included in an overall figure which also includes services, repairs, redistribution and staffing which is built into the overall service fee from the Bike Management Supplierwhich covers all elements of the contract.
• 09. Just two weeks ago at the beginning of September 2021 a Boris Bike (in red Santander livery) was found in Jamaica in the Caribbean. You can read about it here - https://www.mylondon.news/news/uk-world-news/londoners-stunned-boris-bike-turns-21461361.amp - in this news article. How exactly did it turn up here? Do you have any information about what happened and how it reached Jamaica?
Cycle 51493 has been missing since 7th June 2020. It was last hired from Hyde Park Corner by a casual user. We do not hold any further information. Santander Cycles has played a vital role in keeping people moving during the pandemic and we want to make sure bikes continue to be available, which is why we take any theft extremely seriously. We’re working closely with the Met police to deter theft of Santander Cycles, as well as taking measures such as installing cameras at select docking stations, introducing new bikes with GPS tracking, and checking equipment at docking stations to ensure bikes are returned properly. We’d encourage people to continue to report any abandoned bikes to us via our website, email or the Santander Cycles app.
• 10. Since the Boris Bikes were introduced how many times have the touchscreen machines been damaged or vandalised?
There has been 96 instances of vandalism on London Cycle Hire Scheme terminals since the start of the scheme, (as at September 2021).
• 11. How much money did Barclays pay you to promote themselves on the Boris Bike scheme?
The Barclays sponsorship agreement was £5m pa for the Cycle Hire Scheme.
• 12. How much money does Santander pay you to promote themselves on the Boris Bike scheme?
Santander’s sponsorship agreement is £6.25 m pa for the Santander Cycle Hire Scheme. Please see the link below is to the published contracts which are available on our website:
If this is not the information you are looking for, or if you are unable to access it for any reason, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal as well as information on copyright and what to do if you would like to re-use any of the information we have disclosed.
Yours sincerely
Sara Thomas FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
