Mayor of London Boris Johnson has indicated that his priority for the cycle hire scheme is adding more docking stations to the existing area before further expansions of the scheme into new parts of London are considered.
Labour London Assembly member Val Shawcross asked the Mayor:
What plans do you have for increasing the coverage of the cycle hire scheme south of the river? Ideally the scheme should come to Surrey Docks, Rotherhithe, go south to Camberwell and Brixton and also take in Clapham. What discussions are TfL having with Southwark and Lambeth Council respectively?
Boris Johnson replied:
The main focus for the cycle hire scheme at present is to identify locations for more ‘intensification’ sites with our borough partners within the footprint of the current scheme. By increasing the density of docking points, particularly in central London, users will have greater opportunity to hire and dock bikes and the redistribution operation will be more efficient.
The most recent expansion of the scheme includes Clapham Junction with nine docking stations at and around the station. There has also recently been three new sites built near Clapham Common Southside.
That said, I view the scheme as an expanding programme and TfL is more than happy to look at suggested sites and areas subject to a range of criteria that must be met for docking station installation. These include topography, operational considerations and available funding.
TfL remains engaged with both Lambeth and Southwark boroughs regarding intensification and any possible future expansion.