E-bikes to be added to ‘Boris Bike’ fleet from September

Electric-powered bikes are to be added to the fleet of “Boris bikes” from next month in a bid to encourage more Londoners to cycle.

A total of 500 e-Boris bikes will be introduced from September 12, alongside another expansion of the hire scheme – and the first increase in charges in almost a decade.

From next month, it will cost £1.65 to hire one of the 14,000 conventional bikes for 30 minutes under a new “pay per ride” system – mirroring the cost of a bus fare – or £3.30 for an e-bike.

The “power assist” motor on the battery-powered bikes will cut out at 15.5mph – the standard UK limit for e-bikes – but higher speeds will be possible when riding downhill.

The e-bikes can be docked at any of the 800 docking stations across central London. When the battery charge falls to 20 per cent, maintenance staff receive an alert and the e-bikes cannot be released from their docking station until a fully-charged replacement battery is installed.

The introduction of e-bikes is part of a three-year, £18.75m extension of Santander’s sponsorship that was announced last year.

City Hall said e-bikes would make cycling easier for people who struggle with their fitness, age or the length of their journey.

Mayor Sadiq Khan, who tested one of the e-bikes last year, said: “I’m determined to continue building a cleaner, greener London for everyone and this includes making cycling as accessible as possible.

“The new Santander Cycles e-bikes will play an important role in helping to break down some of the barriers that stop people from getting on a bike, including fitness, age and length of journey.”

The cost of annual membership of the scheme will increase by a third, from £90 to £120. A new £20 monthly pass is being introduced.

Monthly or annual members will not pay for rides up to 60 minutes – double the current 30-minute limit - but will be charged a £1 “top-up” for each e-bike trip.

Use of the e-bikes will initially be restricted to people who have registered with the scheme, which costs £3.

The current £2 daily “access charge” for non-members – with additional charges levied on journeys that exceed 30 minutes - will be scrapped.

The increase in charges – the first since 2013 - highlights Transport for London’s need to reduce the cost of the scheme to ease its financial crisis.

The scheme, which was launched by then mayor Boris Johnson in 2010, has seen record usage, with more than 1.3m hires last month. More than a million different people used the bikes last year.

TfL said that new docking stations, funded by Southwark council, would open in Southwark later this year. These will be in Burgess Park Albany Road, South Bermondsey station, Clements Road, Harris Academy, Brandon Street, Crimscott Street and The Blue.

The scheme will be temporarily closed between 10pm on Friday September 9 and 6am on Monday September 12 to allow systems to be upgraded in preparation for the changes.

David Eddington, TfL’s head of cycle hire, said: “Santander Cycles is a vital part of London’s transport system and is more popular than ever, with the scheme seeing 11 record breaking months in a row.”

Cllr Catherine Rose, a Southwark cabinet member, said: “The more people who switch from their cars to a bike, especially for short local trips, the better our air quality will be.”