Electric-powered ‘Boris bikes’ hit London streets

Electric-powered hire bikes were finally added to London’s fleet of “Boris bikes” on Thursday in a bid to encourage more people to cycle.

The launch of the e-bikes, which will be available across central London, had been due to happen last month but was delayed by the death of the Queen.

The e-bikes will cost £3.30 per 30-minute ride and will initially only be available to cyclists who have paid £3 to register with the Santander-sponsored scheme.

But cyclists holding a £20 monthly or £120 annual membership will only be charged a £1 “surcharge” to use the e-bikes per 60-minute trip, though trips lasting longer than an hour will cost a further £3.30.

Mayor Sadiq Khan, who was due to ride an e-bike on Thursday morning, said: “I am delighted to see our first ever Santander Cycles e-bikes in action on London’s streets today, and to join Londoners riding these e-bikes around our city on their first day.

“Their launch is another momentous moment for cycling in London after a record-breaking year for TfL’s Santander Cycles which saw over 12.5m hires.

“The new e-bikes have an important role to play in breaking down some of the barriers that prevent Londoners from getting on a bike, whether that be fitness, age or length of journey. I’m determined to make cycling as accessible as possible as we continue building a safer, greener, more prosperous London for everyone.”

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

Conventional bikes will continue to make up the majority of the 14,000-bike scheme and will be available for £1.65 per 30 minutes. This new levy, introduced last month, is the same as a bus fare.

Monthly and annual members are allowed unlimited rides on these bikes for up to 60 minutes before incurring additional charges.

The e-bikes can be docked at any of the scheme’s 800 docking stations. They will be serviced on street by cargo bikes, including having replacement batteries fitted, ensuring that the scheme is as sustainable as possible.

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. The sponsorship deal runs until 2025.

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 12 successive months of record hires to August.

There have been 9.5m hires so far this year – up 1.2m on the same period last year. More than a million different people used the bikes last year.