Work gets underway on London cycle hire expansion

New areas within Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Lambeth and Kensington & Chelsea will have access to the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme by the end of the year.

Construction has now begun on this south-western expansion of the hire scheme, with work taking place at a docking station site near the junction of Finlay St and Fulham Palace Road in Hammersmith. Initial construction will involve installing electrical cables to bring power to the future docking points and terminals, followed by a black “Cycle Hire” plate will be placed at the location, in preparation for the physical docking station to be installed later this year.

So far users of the scheme have undertaken more than 20 million hires. It currently covers over 65km2 of the capital from Shepherd’s Bush in the west, through central London and east to the fringes of the Olympic Park. The new area will increase the number of cycles available by over 2,000 bicycles and – says TfL – encourage trial and take-up by a wider demographic.

TfL’s Central highways contractor, selected through the TfL’s new pan-London Highways Contract, will carry out the work. Using these contracts will help provide a more sustainable and consistent approach to future docking station delivery across the capital, ensuring better value for money and less disruption for Londoners, according to TfL.

The usual round of quotes kicks off with one from Boris: “The cycle hire scheme is going to be fantastic for southwest London. It will be a real benefit to local people, it helps the economy and is key to my aim of making cycling an integral part of the capital’s transport network.”

Nick Aldworth, general manager for Barclays Cycle Hire, added: “The expansion of Barclays Cycle Hire to south west London will help create thousands of additional journeys each month. Feedback from the public engagement sessions last year was extremely positive and we are now working hard to begin installing the infrastructure required to bring the Mayor’s flagship Barclays Cycle Hire scheme to south west London.”

Ashok Vaswani, CEO Barclays Retail and Business Banking, commented: “We are delighted to have reached an important landmark for Barclays Cycle Hire as it makes such a positive difference to everyday life in London, its people and the economy. Cycling continues to transform the Capital so we look forward to more Londoners and visitors becoming involved with the scheme as it extends to south-west London.”

More than 100 potential locations have already been already approved for new Barclays Cycle Hire docking stations across London and around a further 150 are currently going through the planning process. New locations have been selected for consideration based on potentially cyclable journeys within the area, local attractions and proximity to key public transport connections.