GLA - Brixton welcomes Santander Cycles

This press release, issued by the Mayor of London, was first published on london.gov.uk

• Cycling made easier and more accessible for tens of thousands of Londoners
• Building on a record-breaking 2017, last month was the most popular January on record with more than 645,000 hires

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has today announced that the record-breaking Santander Cycles scheme has been extended to Brixton, making cycling easier and more accessible for tens of thousands more Londoners and visitors to the capital.

The expansion brings seven new docking stations to Lambeth, after a partnership between Lambeth Council and TfL.

The new docking stations have been filled with 200 of the new Santander Cycles built by England's longest established cycle manufacturer Pashley Cycles. These new bikes offer riders improved handling, visibility and comfort, with a new gel saddle, lower frame, new gear hub and improved front and rear Blaze lighting.

Santander Cycles is already one of the largest and most popular cycle hire schemes in Europe and this expansion builds on another record-breaking year for the scheme, which saw 10.4m hires in 2017 - 1.4 per cent up on 2016. Last month was also the most popular January on record with more than 645,000 hires last month.

The new docking stations mean that the scheme's reach now spreads from Brixton in the south to Camden in the north, and Hammersmith in the west to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the east.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: "It's great news that our hugely popular Santander Cycles scheme has today expanded to the streets of Brixton. I have no doubt that the bright red bikes will quickly become a familiar sight across Brixton, as they help tens of thousands more Londoners and visitors travel easily across the area. It's yet another boost for our record-breaking scheme and for our work to make cycling more accessible, improve London's air quality and tackle congestion."

Will Norman, London's Walking and Cycling Commissioner, said: "After their most successful year ever, I'm so pleased that we can today expand Santander Cycles into Brixton. The introduction of our new bikes last year has already proven to be a huge success, I know this expansion in south London is going to allow even more people to enjoy cycling around our capital."

Cllr Jennifer Brathwaite, Lambeth Cabinet Member for Environment & Housing, said: "I'm delighted that Santander Cycles are finally here in Brixton. This is something we've been working on for a long time with TfL as we continue to make it as easy as possible to cycle around Lambeth. The borough is fast becoming the most cycle-friendly in London and this is another way people can start travelling more 'actively', improving health and wellbeing, and contributing to cleaner air - something we're particularly passionate about. We are proud to have a Low Emission Bus Zone in Brixton and Streatham now, helping to reduce pollution around the main roads and Lambeth also provides cycle training, has a great and improving network of safe cycling routes, a free try before you bike scheme and hundreds of cycle hangers to help with bike storage. We will continue to campaign for similar cycle hire options further south in the borough so that even more residents can benefit."

David Eddington, TfL's Head of Cycle Hire, said: "It has been fantastic to partner with Lambeth Council to bring our newly designed Santander Cycles to Brixton as we want to encourage more Londoners to cycle to reduce reliance on car journeys and improve health and air quality. We hope that the extension encourages more people to take to two wheels and to explore all that Lambeth has to offer."

Keith Moor, Chief Marketing Officer at Santander, said: "We are delighted to see the roll out of Santander Cycles to Brixton residents, further fulfilling our commitment to help people and communities prosper. Through the partnership with TfL we have worked to bring excitement and pioneering CyTek innovation to the scheme, whilst making it more accessible, enjoyable and giving people the confidence to cycle around and explore this vibrant city. The expansion of the scheme builds on the work done in 2017, which saw the launch of the new Santander Cycles and a record breaking number of hires - for the second year in a row. We are committed to delivering another excellent year, supporting more and more people to enjoy using the cycles, which offer a quick and easy way to travel around the city and enjoy London life."

Michael Smith, Managing Director of Brixton BID, said: "The Brixton BID welcomes the introduction of Santander Cycles, which can only be positive for this vibrant area, giving visitors and locals more ways to get in and around Brixton. This introduction should also deliver healthier fitness options, reducing the number of cars and improving air quality."

Enabling people to cycle is one of the key components of the mayor's draft Transport Strategy, which aims to make London a healthier, greener and more accessible place by investing in, and encouraging greater use of, public transport and active travel.

To find your nearest Santander Cycles docking station, visit tfl.gov.uk/santandercycles or download the app from iTunes and Android App Stores.

Notes to editors:

For images visit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tflpress/albums/72157663515216307

The new Santander Cycle docking stations in Lambeth are located on:

• St. John's Crescent, Brixton
• Ferndale Road, Brixton
• Saltoun Road, Brixton
• Cranmer Road, Stockwell
• Normandy Road, Stockwell
• Wynne Road, Stockwell
• Sidney Road, Stockwell

About Santander Cycles:

• Santander Cycles covers 100 square kilometres of London, making it the second largest cycle hire scheme in Europe
• Since launching in July 2010, more than 68 million journeys have been made
• There are now more than 775 docking stations and 11,700 bikes
• The scheme goes from Hammersmith in the west to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the east, and Camden in the north and now to Brixton in the south
• More than 2.3m hires have now been made using the Santander Cycles app
  Santander Cycles can be hired from as little as £2 a day for an unlimited number of 30-minute journeys
• Annual membership offers easier and cheaper access to bikes for only £90 a year, 25p a day
• The new Santander Cycles also feature a new technology platform, CyTek, which includes inbuilt bluetooth and the capacity for GPS technology, which will allow the performance of the bikes to be recorded.

2017 annual hire member figures reveal:

• St Peter's Terrace, Fulham docking station was used 636 times by the same person
• One Santander Cycles member visited 440 different docking stations
• Waterloo Station was the most popular docking station for members with 341,157 trips either starting or ending there
• One member cycled 21km from Lee Valley VeloPark, Olympic Park to Oxford Road, Putney