TfL’s cycle hire bikes will be a bit easier to hire later this year, as they will introduce mobile payments for the service.
At the moment, people can pay via the terminal next to the bikes or, if they have a subscription, via the mobile app or a keyfob. This autumn, TfL plans to add mobile payments via the smartphone app to the service, which will make things easier for most people who currently have to use the terminal screen next to the bikes.
The move is part of a range of things being done by the cycle hire scheme to address a sharp decline in bike hires since the surge in use during the pandemic lockdowns.
TfL’s cycle hire rates spiked at 11.8 million in 2021/22 but have since declined to 8.5 million in 2023/24.
That goes counter to the wider increase in cycling in London, which has been surging in recent years. According to TfL’s Travel in London report, nearly a quarter of Londoners used a bicycle in 2023, and cycling rates in general were up by 20 percent compared to 2019.
However, while cycling is generally increasing, the same can’t be said for TfL’s own cycle hire scheme, which has hit the doldrums. TfL’s latest Customer Service and Operational Performance Panel report suggests several reasons for the decline, including the rise of rival cycle hire schemes and some issues with TfL’s own scheme, which they are addressing.
A significant factor is the increased preference for e-bikes, and TfL’s own e-bikes are already seeing more use than the classic pedal bikes. The report says that on average, e-bikes are hired 3.9 times per day per bike, almost double that of the classic bike at 2.2 times per day per bike
That increased preference for e-bikes is why TfL is currently expanding its e-bike fleet, with an additional 1,400 e-bikes being added to their fleet this summer.
A factor in the reduced use of TfL bikes can also be attributed partly to their limited geographic range compared to dockless bike rivals, which are more widespread — to the convenience of users, if not always to pedestrians who have to navigate around carelessly dumped bikes.
The change in how TfL charged for their bikes, from a daily fee to a per-ride fee, also seemed to reduce usage, and that decision was reversed in March, which is already seeing a slight increase in hire rates.
And, to improve the ease of using their cycle hire bikes, the sometimes clunky terminal screens used to book a ride will have a mobile payments alternative launching in the autumn.
Next year, they will be able to report back on whether that has stemmed the decline in TfL bike hires.
It’s a great service, currently being beaten out by Forest and Lime. I find that if I need one short ride, Forest’s 10 mins for free easily trumps them. And then for impulsive point to point Lime/Forest is just more flexible (granted they plague the streets) For multiple trips a day the £3 can’t be beat though – say an evening ride and morning ride.
I think the payment app will help, I often don’t carry cards and the totems can be very very slow.
If you use it frequently, getting a key makes more sense than even a mobile payment.
I believe this result comes from the arrogance from the scheme of introducing 3 key changes in recent years :
– increase the yearly membership from £90 to £120 in one go
– removing the daily rental option AT THE SAME TIME
– scrapping the discount regularly offered on Ride Safe Days in September
These changes all included AT THE SAME TIME have totally broken momentum for the firm.
I feel they may be making the mistake of ignoring them as a whole as a cause of the decline.
👍
What’s missing from the service (prices for standard bikes)
* PAYG 60 minute ride that isn’t £3.30 (needs to be no more than £2.50, ideally £2)
* PAYG daily cap of £3 same as the pass, without having to purchase a pass in advance (especially if you have the keyfob)–which could handle the previous point as well
* Ability to have bike rides count towards your TfL daily cap
* Ability to have bike rides discounted if you recently used a train, tube or bus
(there will be technical issues and constraints to making multi-modal capping/discounting work, but let us have what we can)
* Contactless option on the payment terminals (a fairly pricey retrofit, but I suspect there will need to be a card entry device retrofit within a few years anyway, these don’t stay in support for ever)
* releasing funds for some docking station/network expansion (I don’t use the cycles as much as I would like, as the network doesn’t extend to my nearest big group of shops in North London; little prospect of S106/borough funding to extend the dock network in that direction
The lack of expansion especially east and north London after the Olympics due to having to rely on the good-will of councils was the schemes main flaw. Physical docks make so much more sense in a congested city they just need to be more frequent and more widespread outside of zone 1.
The challenge is a set of docks is quite expensive (of the order of £200k+ in 2020) and Tfl/Santander depends on S106/borough money to fund most of the cost (rarely will fully fund a new dock); and boroughs don’t always choose that usage that usage for S106 in a planning agreement
Source: https://content.tfl.gov.uk/developer-guidance-for-santander-cycles.pdf
You can already use the app to unlock a bike and avoid the totem even without a subscription. So not sure what this actually is?