All London’s hire bikes to be fitted with Blaze Laserlights

Blaze Laserlights have been fitted to 4,000 on London’s Santander hire bikes to make users more visible at night. Over the next nine months the lights will be fitted to all 11,500 hire bikes, said Transport for London (TfL).

The Blaze Laserlight, developed by Emily Brooke, projects the symbol of a bicycle six metres in front of the cycle, onto the ground. 

Over the winter months the number of rides each day falls below the warmer seasons, but TfL hopes the lights will encourage more people to keep up the cycling habit.

The Laserlights will only come on only when it is dark to save energy. 

In September 2015, 250 Santander Cycles were fitted with the technology. An on-street survey of cyclists riding them revealed that around three-quarters felt more confident, said TfL. Almost half said they would be more likely to use Santander Cycles at night with the Laserlight fitted.

Keith Moor, chief marketing officer, Santander said: “We’ve had a hugely successful trial and feel that this latest innovation from Santander Cycles will contribute to improving the lives of Londoners by reducing fear, increasing visibility and safety whilst promoting an active lifestyle.”

Last month, the Mayor of London Sadiq Kahn, announced that TfL had signed a new five year contract with Serco to maintain and distribute Santander Cycles. As part of that contract a next-generation Santander Cycle will be provided, built by Pashley Cycles at its factory in Stratford-upon-Avon.

The new bikes will be lighter and more manoeuvrable. Around 500 new bikes will be provided each year under the new contract and all will be fitted with Blaze Laserlights from new. 

http://bit.ly/SantanderCyclesBlaze