Santander Cycles is the self-service, bike-sharing scheme for short journeys in inner London.
The official Santander Cycles app from Transport for London is the only app to send bike release codes straight to your smartphone. So you can skip past the docking station terminal and get on your bike quicker.
Simply register with your bank card, and use the app to ‘Hire now’ from a nearby docking station. Follow the instructions to get your bike release code. Tap the code into the docking point and you’re good to go!
You can also:
• See up-to-the-minute information about which docking stations have bikes and spaces available
• Plan a journey with an easy to follow map
• Receive notifications – for example, summarising the cost at the end of your hire
• View your recent journeys and charges
• Save your favourite docking stations
• Become a London Rider - complete challenges and hire cycles to earn entries into a weekly prize draw!
Each bike release code is valid for 10 minutes at your chosen docking station.
Please note the app doesn’t reserve bikes. If there are no bikes available at the docking station, don’t worry. Use the app to find a nearby docking station with bikes, and get another bike release code to use there. You won’t be charged until you use the release code.
You must be 18 or over to hire a bike, and 14 or over to ride one. For full Santander Cycles terms and conditions, see tfl.gov.uk/santandercycles
The app is very glitchy. This morning I had to reenter my card details, even though they are saved in the app. For some reason it doesn’t allow me to use Autofill, so I had to go back and forth from my banking app to input the details as I usually rely on my Apple Wallet. I also had to reset my password to gain access even though i have the password saved in the phone. I tried entering my details and it kept rejecting them. Not sure why this was the case but happened another time too. The mapping options also direct you from the wrong set of docking stations really odd. Needs a bit of work.