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Cheap Bike Sharing Hits London, Thanks to Barclays

January 20, 2011 at 3:31 PM | by | Comments (0)

We’ve been following public bike sharing around the globe for quite some time, and we even got to test out the famous Vélib bikes in Paris not too long ago. The latest city to join the craze is London, and we’re sure that the Barclays Cycle Hire will only get bigger and better with the royal wedding just a few months away, not to mention the Olympics in 2012.

Things kicked off last summer, but the real fun began last month when things were opened up to the general public with fewer restrictions and no specific membership requirements. London’s bike rental program works pretty similar to others, so all you need to do is find a bike rack, throw down a few bucks—Pounds Sterling in this case—and then start pedaling.

Those who are frequent users can register online to get an access key for the service. The key costs £3 and speeds up the rental process, but most tourists will probably just walk up to the racks and swipe a credit card to unlock some pedal power and initiate the rental.

As of now there is an access fee of £1 per day—you can get a week long pass for just £5—and after that it’s just £1 for the first hour of biking around the city. Taking the bike out for 90 minutes will set you back £4, so you might want to switch bikes at one of the rental racks before biking around the city. If you keep your rental for the whole day, you’re looking at almost $100, so just remember to switch it up.

The first 30 minutes are free, so if you’re looking to travel on the cheap, frequent returns and rentals could score you a freebie for much of the day. The program has been going well since the summer, and it looks like the latest plan for expansion will head towards the eastern portions of the city. London is looking to spend millions on the project over the next few years, so we only expect things to improve as time goes on.

Related Stories:
· Barclays Cycle Hire [Official Site]
· How to Survive a Metro Strike in Paris: Vélib Bike Rentals [Jaunted]
· Bike Rentals coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Wikimedia]

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