Santander Cycles to cost as little as £1 a week for commuters

Santander Cycles has announced that bike hire will be available for as little as £1 a week for London commuters.

Transport for London (TfL) has partnered with Cyclescheme, a cycle to work provider, to offer discounted Santander Cycles membership for workers whose employers sign up to the City Bike Hire scheme.

The fee for the scheme comes directly out of employees’ wages if they opt in, with the total amount split into equal payments and spread across the year, and participants are also eligible for discounts on cycle helmets, clothing and other safety equipment.

Santander Cycles annual membership is usually £90, but this amount will be discounted by 32-42 per cent depending on the commuter’s tax bracket.  

Those who receive the maximum discount will therefore pay £52.20 for the year – the equivalent of just over £1 a week.

The scheme covers an unlimited number of journeys of 30 minutes or less within the capital. Every additional 30 minutes of cycling costs £2.

Some 22,000 employers in London who’ve signed up to Cyclescheme currently have access to the Santander Cycles discounted membership, meaning approximately 800,000 employees are eligible.  

“We believe our forward-thinking approach coupled with these incredible savings demonstrate our dedication to making cycling more accessible,” said Adrian Warren, director at Cyclescheme and chair of the Cycle to Work Alliance.  

“Cycling is becoming more prevalent in London, but many people struggle to afford a bike or to find space to store one. With over 22,000 employers already signed up, this new initiative will break down those barriers and help more Londoners get on their bikes.”

Helen Sharp, TfL's head of cycle hire business development, added: “Our cycle hire scheme has led a revolution in cycling in London over the last 10 years, offering people flexible and affordable access to bikes across the city.  

“Our data shows that Londoners are increasingly turning to cycling, with records for Santander Cycles broken over a dozen times since May this year.

“There has never been a better time to start cycling.”

It follows the government’s decision to press ahead with more cycling and walking schemes for Britain's towns and cities.

Boris Johnson said there was “strong appetite” for more active travel infrastructure, as the Department for Transport announced a further £175m of funding for the schemes.

A survey by pollsters Redfield & Winton showed that just 19 per cent of people in London oppose measures like low traffic neighbourhoods, while 52 per cent support them and 25 per cent are neutral.