Brompton Bike Hire makes it easier to borrow bikes and scraps joining fees

The rental wing of Brompton Bicycle, Brompton Bike Hire, has make it quicker and cheaper for riders to hire bikes to mark its 12-year anniversary.

Brompton Bike Hire, the brainchild of Brompton CEO Will Butler-Adams, was established as an affordable entry to cycling for those who can’t afford or don’t want to commit to buying their own bike. 

Launched 12 years ago from a luggage desk at Waterloo station, Brompton Bike Hire now operates from 70+ lockers nationwide, letting riders hire a fully-insured bike on-the-go, for anything from 24 hours to long-term spells. 

But the Brompton Bike Hire system has also been set up to encourage riders to buy a bike if they want, offering consumers the chance to claim back hire fees if they decided to buy their own Brompton bike. 

 Julian Scriven, Managing Director of Brompton Bike Hire said: ‘’At Brompton Bike Hire, we are always seeking to innovate so that we can enable as many people as possible to enjoy the benefits of riding our bikes. In this case, we went back to first principles, i.e. our reason for being is to make cycling as accessible as possible. One in three members already join our scheme with the express purpose of trying cycling before buying a bike, so hopefully removing the annual fee will enable even more people to give cycling a go.

‘’We plan to make further improvements and updates to our offer in the future – including being able to offer a wider range of Bromptons for our users.’’ 

To mark the 12-year anniversary, Brompton Bike Hire has reduced the cost of bike rentals by scrapping the joining fee, which means it’s just £5 a day for riders to rent a bike. 

The registration process has also been simplified and the app has been streamlined, all to make renting a bike more appealing. 

Hire customers can claim back their hire fees should they decide to buy a bike, receiving up to £150 for a regular Brompton, or £250 for an electric Brompton bike

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This new streamlined app and pay-as-you-go structure forms part of Brompton Bike Hire’s longer term vision of setting up docks to hold multiple Brompton bike types that can be hired out. The aim is to provide as many people as possible the opportunity to experience Brompton bikes. There are also plans in place to continually look at optimising the Bike Hire experience with further app updates on the horizon. 

Earlier this year, Scriven told BikeBiz about how he hopes Brompton Bike Hire is a stepping stone to more riders buying bikes, benefitting cycle retailers in the long run.