Barclays Cycle Hire free to all this weekend

Londoners and visitors can enjoy a free weekend of cycling on Barclays Cycle Hire bikes on Saturday 16 and Sunday 17 August. Anyone will be able to saddle up on a cycle hire bike for a 24-hour period, and as long as the trips are kept under half an hour people can make as many rides as they wish, all for free.

Barclays Cycle Hire was launched on 30 July 2010, since then over 32 million journeys have been made and the scheme has just celebrated its fourth successful year. July was a record breaking month with 1.18m hires, the busiest since people first started pedalling on the distinctive blue bikes.

The scheme now covers over 100km² of London and more than 90 London Underground stations (including the entire Circle line) and a number of major rail stations such as Clapham Junction, Liverpool Street, Paddington and Putney are now all within a short walk of a docking station, enabling more people to make cycling part of their daily commute.

To encourage more people to take up cycling, and to help build confidence on two wheels, British Cycling and Transport for London (TfL) have teamed up to also offer free group rides this weekend. One ride will take place in Hyde Park on Saturday 16 August, and a women only bike ride to help encourage women to start cycling, will be held in Regent’s Park on Sunday 17 August.

Cycle hire users can pick up a free copy of the “Explore London with Barclays Cycle Hire” map, which contains the above leisure routes, at central London Tube stations, London Overground stations.

Barclays Cycle Hire is easy to use. Users can simply use a credit or debit card to hire a bike, with no need to book, and from as little as £2 for 24 hours can make an unlimited number of journeys under 30 minutes each time. Regular users can register for annual membership, which equates to 25p per day and get the same unlimited number of journeys under 30 minutes each without paying anything more. Alternatively, they can register as a Pay as You Pedal member, which provides users with a membership key for quick access to the bikes and a pay as you go facility.


To get the free cycle hire on August 16 and 17 users must use their bank card rather than a membership key to access a bike. Riders must be 14 years or older. There are charges for journey of 30 minutes or longer.