London Cycle Hire Scheme becomes Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme in £25m deal

Barclays Bank was today unveiled as the sponsor of the new London Cycle Hire Scheme, which will now be known as the Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme. Barclays is also to sponsor the Cycle Superhighway network – one of the first routes two routes appropriately enough links South London to Bank.

London's Mayor, Boris Johnson was joined by Barclays big wigs for a series of announcements about the cycle hire scheme and the cycling superhighways, both of which go live in July.

Ahead of the both launches the Mayor announced a series of 45 Barclays Cycle Superhighway roadshow to take place across central London. The shows are designed to give Londoners all the information they need to get on and go once the cycle hire scheme goes live on July 30, they be able to see all of the kit including the final bicycle, docking stations and terminals. Information on the new Barclays Cycle Superhighways will also feature on the roadshows closest to the chosen routes.

Each of the 45 Barclays Cycle Hire roadshows, which run from today until October, will provide practical demonstrations, hints and tips - including how to register for the scheme, how much it will cost to use, and how to pick up and drop off hire bicycles from the docking stations.Existing or potential cyclists will also be given safety tips, details of cycle routes and will be encouraged to sign up for TfL-funded cycle training through their local borough council. Visit tfl.gov.uk/cycling for information on how to set up your cycle training session.

Seventeen of the roadshows will be held at locations close to the Barclays Cycle Superhighways pilot routes so will include information on this scheme as well as Barclays Cycle Hire. A full schedule of the roadshow events is available at tfl.gov.uk/barclayscyclehire.

Making today's announcement the Mayor said: “I’m delighted that Barclays are on board and they are going to help us deliver the cleanest, greenest and healthiest form of public transport that London has ever seen. Barclays Cycle Hire, alongside Barclays Cycle Superhighways, will mark 2010 in the history books of our great city as the year that we put the measures in place to create a cycling revolution in London.”

Barclays have agreed to pay £25m as part of the sponsorship deal which gives the bank naming rights for the first two cycle superhighways plus branding on the hire bikes, maintenance support vehicles and maintenance staff uniforms.

Deanna Oppenheimer, CEO UK Retail Bank and Vice Chair Global Retail Bank, at Barclays (at Barclays they like their job titles to be like their profits, enormous) said: "We are really excited to be part of these two flagship schemes that will help Londoners to lead more active lives and promote the benefits of cycling as a sustainable, environmentally friendly mode of transport. It will also take our brand around London, one of the most famous cities in the world and the home of our global headquarters, in an eye-catching and innovative way. So we look forward to supporting this programme. We are sure these schemes will become as iconic as the Tube or London buses."

To get things rolling ahead of the scheme launch TfL today give 50 of the new Barclays Cycle Hire bicycles to the nine London boroughs that the scheme will operate in: Camden, City of London, Hackney, Islington, Lambeth, Kensington & Chelsea, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Westminster. The idea is that people who live, work or study in the Barclays Cycle Hire zone will be able to sign up for cycle training in advance of the scheme going live, and be among the first in London to ride one of the bicycles.

You can register your interest in the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme by going to tfl.gov.uk/barclayscyclehire and you can find out more about cycle superhighways at tfl.gov.uk/barclayscyclesuperhighways.