London's cycle hire scheme 'takes riders to moon and back'

Date: 2/2/2011

Customers of the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme in London collectively took enough two-wheel journeys within the first six months of the campaign's launch to take them to the moon and back 13 times.

According to Transport for London (TfL), 10,000,000 km have been pedalled on the blue bikes, with the aim of the scheme being to encourage and make it simpler for people to use environmentally-friendly transport to journey around the capital.

As a result, the Mayor's Transport Advisor Kulveer Ranger informed a conference yesterday (February 1st) that the scheme will be expanded across a large section of eastern London by spring 2012.

Commenting on the news, TfL's Managing Director of Surface Transport David Brown said: "The bikes are now a popular sight across central London, transforming the way people make short trips around the capital."

While consumers can sign up and become members of the hire scheme, they can also choose to simply pay for their bike with a credit or debit card for a set time - with the first 30 minutes costing nothing.

Posted by Nick Anderson