Capital’s cycle hire sets May record

London’s Santander Cycles scheme recorded 1.12 million hires in May, the highest number for that month in the scheme’s ten year history. Hire rates fell about 26 per cent following the introduction of Covid-19 travel restrictions in March. Fourteen new docking stations and more than 1,700 new bikes will be delivered to help keep up with demand. Three new docking stations will be built around Clapham Common, four alongside the Cycleway 4 route, which will connect Tower Bridge Road with Rotherhithe, and one at nearby Canada Water. A further six docking stations will be built by the end of the year at undisclosed locations. The additional 1,700 bikes will increase the fleet to more than 14,000. The increase of nearly 15 per cent represents the largest single increase in bikes for the scheme since 2013.