London’s municipal bike sharing program has seen its best summer ever this year, as residents take advantage of sunny weather and avoid public transportation due to strikes and rising fares.
(Bloomberg) — London’s municipal bike sharing program has seen its best summer ever this year, as residents take advantage of sunny weather and avoid public transportation due to strikes and rising fares.
The city program recorded 3.9 million rentals from June through August, an 11% increase from last summer. That marks a new record, according to data from network manager Transport for London.
And the municipal bike sharing system — widely known as Santander Cycles, after its main sponsor — represents just a portion of overall rentals in the city. Lime, one of most popular alternatives, has recorded 5 million rides since it started operations in 2018.
The surge in bike usage comes as over two-thirds of Britons have either started cycling to work or are considering doing so to offset travel costs, according to new research from payment specialist Blackhawk Network, the owner of Cyclescheme, which provides cycles from the city system to employees as part of a tax benefit program.
Big usage spikes for the municipal program were seen on both June 21 and August 19, two days when workers on London’s underground Tube system went on strike over wages.
Unusually sunny weather, with record high temperatures, was also a factor behind the capital’s summer usage increase, according to Rob Whitehead, director of strategic development at the Centre for London think tank. That came as many Londoners have continued to seek alternatives to the Tube since the height of the pandemic, he said.
Still, compared to bike use in other European capitals, London is still playing catch-up, lagging behind cities like Paris, which has seen a huge increase in ridership in recent years. But with the cost of living spiraling in the UK, the gap could close quickly.
Londoners who switch to cycling can pocket annual savings of £1,400 ($1,399), according to Blackhawk. Meanwhile Tube fares, which were frozen until the pandemic, have risen sharply as tumbling ridership numbers left Transport for London in financial duress. Mayor Sadiq Khan has acknowledged that fares will likely rise further in 2023.
That marks a sharp contrast to bike sharing costs, which haven’t risen since 2013 in the Transport for London program, though pricing structure is set to change next week.
“There’s definitely a cost of living problem in London, probably worse than anywhere,” Whitehead said. “Cycling is a really cheap, reliable, healthy alternative for getting in and out of work.”
More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
