Boris bikes break 10 million km barrier

Barclays Cycle Hire bikes have covered a total of 10million kilometres in the six months since the scheme kicked off, the Mayor’s transport advisor, Kulveer Ranger, told an urban cycling conference in London today.

He said that users have now clocked up over 2.5 million journeys using the bikes and confirmed that the expansion of the scheme across a large area of east London will be complete by spring 2012.

The total distance cycled is said to be the equivalent of 13 return trips to the moon, (although we don’t recommend going there as the atmosphere’s rubbish).

Mr. Ranger, said: “One of the best things about Barclays Cycle Hire has been the number of cyclists who have told me how the bikes have made a positive change to their life, as well as their commute.

"Users say they feel healthier, fitter and invigorated when they reach their destination. That is all part of the joy of taking to two wheels and one of the reasons why in just six months our blue bikes have made a huge contribution to the cycle revolution the Mayor wants to bring to London."

When the next phase of the expansion is complete, a total of 2,000 more bikes and 4,200 extra docking points will have been installed across the existing and expanded network. By then, the scheme will cover 65km² of the Capital and around 8,000 hire bikes will be available from 14,400 docking points at hundreds of locations across central and east London.

On its busiest day of operation so far more than 27,500 cycle journeys were made using Boris bikes which covered over 124,800km, the equivalent of travelling the length of the Victoria line 5,943 times.

Nearly 110,000 people are now Barclays Cycle Hire members and casual customers have already purchased over 28,000 access periods, making over 70,000 cycle journeys since the scheme was launched to casual customers just eight weeks ago.

TfL’s Managing Director of Surface Transport, David Brown, said: “The bikes are now a popular sight across central London, transforming the way people make short trips around the Capital. Around 95 per cent of all journeys made by Barclays Cycle Hire members have been under 30 minutes, which means that the vast majority of people using the scheme aren’t paying any more than their access period.”

UK residents can start using the cycle hire scheme as a member for just £4 – the cost of buying the membership key (£3) and their first 24 hour access period (£1).