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Home » London Bicycle Hire Guide

London Bicycle Hire Guide

Updated October 5, 2023 Eyal
- This post contains affiliate links to websites we recommend and trust. If you buy through one of those links you won’t pay more and we’ll get a small commission.

Santander Cycles is a self-service London cycle bike-hire scheme available 24/7 for short journeys around London.
You may hear it being called ‘Boris Bikes’, after the former Boris Johnson who brought the successful idea to London!
You can hire a bike from your nearest docking station and return them to any of the 800 docking stations in London, once you’re done.

  • Costs and Pay Methods for a visitors in London:
  • Returning the bike
  • Availability
  • Cycle Experience in London: Maps, Routes, and Bike Tours
  • Segway in London

Costs and Pay Methods for a visitors in London:

bike-hire costs £1.65 for every half hour:
– You can use a bank card or the Santander Cycles app (Google Play Store / Apple App Store).
– You can also pay in the nearest docking station terminal with your debit or credit card

* If you are NOT here for a short stay, we recommend to visit tfl website for the different membership options

Returning the bike

You will need to have an empty space to dock your bike at the end of your journey.
If your chosen station is full, you’ll need to go to the automated machine, identify yourself and it will display the nearest available stations!
You will be given an extra 15 minutes, free, to find another station :)

You must return the bike within 24 hours.
NOT returning the cycle on time will incur a fee of up to £300!

* The bike is your responsibility and it does not come with a lock; ensure you don’t leave it unattended.

Availability

To check real-time availability of bikes in different docking stations, check out the useful Bike Share Map!

Barclays brand about cycle hire in London … old and still helpful and funny:

Cycle Experience in London: Maps, Routes, and Bike Tours

If you are looking for recommendations on the best cycle routes within London or would like a guided tour of the city on a bike, you can find more information in:

Secret London Bike
Grand London Bike Tour
Get Your Guide

London has a series of Cycle Superhighways, dedicated routes for cycling throughout the city, which in some areas they are painted blue. You can find more information in the tfl website.

Cable Street cycle superhighway

Please keep in mind: Technically you are not allowed to ride on the sidewalk. Riding a bike on the road can be dangerous, and even though there is no legal requirement to wear a helmet – we would recommend you to do so and, wherever possible, stay within the designated cycle lanes!

Segway in London

Segway trips in London are usually out of the city center, at various parks. You can explore routes in the virgin experience website.

Have a safe ride!

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