Boris’ cycle hire sees 13 crashes in two months

Transport for London has revealed that Barclays Cycle Hire bikes were involved in at least 13 incidents in the first two months of operation, with ten reports of user injury in eleven weeks, according to a report from This is London.

There were 34 incidents involving the bikes between July 30th and September 30th, with five further incidents related to the hire scheme also taking place – including one where a woman was knocked off her bike by a trailer being used to move the hire bikes between docking points.

Despite the fact Boris bikes are plastered with big numbers, there have been very few reports of hire scheme users performing any illegal cycling moves. There have been just two reports of bad behaviour, found a Freedom of Information request.

The CTC told This is London, it supported the hire initiative, but felt safety could be improved for users of the scheme. Chris Peck, CTC spokesman, said the Cycle Superhighways should be improved, speed limits shoud drop and road design needed to improve.

A TfL spokesperson said: “Despite the fact that over 1.6 million Barclays Cycle Hire journeys have been made since the launch of the scheme almost four months ago, we had just ten reports of users being injured while using the bikes during the first 11 weeks of operation.”

Think Tank LondonSays added that private companies should take the opportunity of providing free helmets for users of the scheme (who pick up and drop off bikes throughout the day). LondonSays spokesman Ray Sadri said: “Many of the Boris Bikers I spoke to resent the idea of having to fork out £30 on average for a decent helmet.”