Santander Cycles has been available to Londoners and visitors since 2010. Think you know the most popular routes? 🤔 Can you guess how many customers have hired a cycle since it opened?
Find key facts and interesting figures here.
Cycle hire trivia
Date opened  | 2010 |
|---|---|
| Trips made | Over 100 million – that’s more than 10 rides per Londoner! |
| Customers 💁♀️ | 5.9 million |
| Distance travelled 🚀 | 300,000,000 km (equivalent to nearly 3 return trips to Mars!) |
| Most popular A to B trip | Starting at Hyde Park Corner and ending at Albert Gate, Hyde Park (this has been made over 39,000 times) |
| Most popular docking station | Waterloo Station (more than 2.9 million journeys have started or ended here) |
| Most popular trip | Round trip starting and ending at Hyde Park Corner (this has been made 178,000 times) |
| App downloads 📱 | 1.3 million (available in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store) |
| Hires through the app | 7.8 million (launched May 2015) |
• One customer has used the scheme more than 16,000 times
• One customer has hired from the same docking station more than 3,500 times (Denyer Street, Knightsbridge)
Celebrating 11 years of cycle hire
Time flies when you’re having fun! It’s already been 11 years since we launched London’s flagship cycle hire scheme and to celebrate, we found the capital’s cycle hire heroes. 🚲 🦸
Our 12 cycle hire heroes have a unique story to tell – they’re our first rider, our most dedicated cyclist and people who have used Santander Cycles to make a difference.
How to hire a Santander Cycles
You can hire a cycle from as little as £2. Simply go to any docking station with your bank card and touch the screen to get started. There’s no need to book – hire a cycle, ride it where you like, then return it to any docking station.
The Santander Cycles app sends a release code straight to your phone, letting you skip past the terminal and get on your cycle quicker. You can also save your favourite docking stations and search by Tube and train stations, London landmarks and street name.
Join the Santander Cycles London Riders scheme in the app and when you hire a cycle using it, or use your membership key, you’ll be entered into a weekly prize draw. 🎁
Download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
Do you know more interesting trivia? Share in the comments below! 
Is there anywhere I can find a definitive list of all Santander docking stations currently open? I’ve set myself a challenge of visiting every station – so far I’ve made it to 193. (The only list I can find is from 2015 – and clearly since then some have closed and others have opened). Also, does anyone do a printed (rather than online) map of all the stations?
Hi Ashley,
If you email us at [email protected] we have a list of all the docking stations currently open that we can share with you.
Your challenge sounds fantastic and very inspiring! We’d definitely recommend you enter our Cycle hire heroes competition too 👉 https://londonblog.tfl.gov.uk/2020/03/16/cycle-hire/
Thanks
They’re heavy – I once had to carry one. What does a bike weigh?
Hi Steve,
Both the original and new model of the Santander Cycles weigh 23kg. The reason for this is the cycles need to be durable for huge usage volumes and withstand the elements.
Thanks
The best thing about the Santander Cycles is not needing a smartphone app. My phone is old and has trouble with a lot of apps which shuts me out of many competing schemes, but I can hire your bikes with just a debit card.