"The capital’s streets are now chiming to the sound of bicycle bells and twinkling with the LED lights of our fantastic bikes,” said Boris Johnson, the Major of London, following the launch of the London Cycle Hire Scheme in July 2010.

The project follows in the path of Montreal, Paris and Melbourne, and offers people an environmentally friendly and cost-effective way to get about above ground. Designed, built and operated by Serco on behalf of Transport for London, the scheme’s ‘Boris bikes’ were initially available to members only, who signed up to receive a cycle hire key, which is used to electronically unlock the bikes at docking points. Within ten weeks of the launch there had been over 1 million journeys.

The scheme has proved hugely popular with commuters, and there are currently more than 113,000 members making use of a total of 5,000 bikes and 385 docking stations around the capital. ‘Casual users’ can now ride as well, by paying on the spot with a credit card at the docking points. By spring 2011 the initial phase of the project will be complete, taking the number of bikes available to hire to 6,000 and the number of docking stations to 400. Then plans for an eastern extension will get underway, in readiness for heavier tourist use in the summer and during the 2012 Olympics.

The bicycles are sturdy and relatively heavy, to cope with vandalism and frequent use, and are guaranteed for use up to 40,000 miles. Serco teams keep them moving around the city to where they are needed most: the control room tracks the bicycles and sends on-street operative instructions to indicate which docking stations need refilling. They also send out electrical and mechanical engineers to repair faulty bikes and equipment. Routine maintenance operatives are on call to clean the bikes and attend to any minor faults onsite.