London Mayor Sets Wheels Turning On Bicycle For Hire Program
LONDON, Nov 18, 2008 (AFP) - London Mayor Boris Johnson gave the green light Tuesday for an easy-access cycle hire scheme to be introduced in the city in 2010, similar to the highly popular Velib network in Paris.
Some 6,000 bicycles will be available from 400 locations in the British capital from May 2010 under the project, which was first proposed by Johnson’s predecessor Ken Livingstone.
Johnson, who often cycles to work himself, called for companies to tender for contracts after a feasibility study showed that the scheme was realisable.
“When Londoners elected me, they knew they were getting a champion of cycling and someone that would be a peddler of pedal power,” he said in a statement released by his office.
“I have long held the view that a cyclised city is a civilised city but if we are to get more Londoners on to two wheels rather than four, we need to provide the facilities to help them do so.”
The Velib scheme was launched in Paris in 2007 and more than 20,000 bikes are now available from nearly 1,500 locations. Similar schemes are also available in Copenhagen, Barcelona, Rome and Washington.
Categories: Commuting, News, Politics
Tags:
Leave a Reply