Cycle hub offers Olympic travel alternative

Twenty Brompton folding cycles are now available to hire at Haven Green at any time of day or night. To hire a bike, users must first register online, giving their credit card details and pay a membership fee which varies according to how frequently they use the service.

The folding bikes, which are ideal for commuters because they can be taken on public transport and stored under a desk, can be hired from one day up to a year.

Frequent users can hire a cycle from as little as £1.60 per day for a month plus a yearly membership fee of £50. A trial rider tariff enables new users the opportunity to try a Brompton Bike for £10 for a week.

Members then send a text message on their mobile phones to get a PIN code to release a bike from a secure dock 24 hours a day. Cyclists can reserve a bike or bay to return the bike to, the night before or up to an hour beforehand.

Ealing Broadway Cycle Hub also offers covered, well-lit and more secure parking for 123 bikes close to Ealing Broadway Station – an increase from the previous 74 spaces on the old stands. Haven Green which will also have extensive CCTV security. The majority of the cost for the Cycle Hub was covered by Transport for London ’s (TfL) Biking Borough funding. Further cycle hubs with hire facilities are planned for Greenford next spring.

The creation of this facility is part of the council’s Cycling Strategy which aims to encourage more people to take to two wheels as their regular mode of transport.

Ealing Council leader, Councillor Julian Bell is aiming to cycle 2,012 miles in 2012 as part of his Olympic ‘get set challenge.’ So far Cllr Bell has cycled more than 1,200 miles since early April.

Councillor Bell said: “What better way to avoid traffic jams or queues at bus stops – particularly during the Olympics and Paralympics – than cycling?

“This exciting new facility will give cyclists leaving their own bikes there peace of mind and people hiring cycles will be able to fold them up and take them on public transport.”

Cabinet Member for Transport and Environment, Councillor Bassam Mahfouz said: “Cycling is a fast, cheap, healthy and environmentally-friendly way of travelling. We want residents of all ages and experience to view cycling as an attractive and safe option. I am delighted that we can bring an affordable bike-hire scheme to Ealing to make cycling available to everyone. Alongside our other initiatives such as our award-winning cycle training, the Hub demonstrates our commitment to cycling.”

Ben Plowden, Transport for London ’s Director of Planning, Service Transport said: “Cycling is a great way to travel in and around London and offers a healthier alternative to other forms of transport. This new cycle hub and infrastructure will help make the cycling experience for Ealing residents much easier and safer during and after the London 2012 Games, creating an Olympic legacy by encouraging a local culture towards cycling.”

“Ealing is one of our 13 Biking Boroughs who have received funding from TfL, to help introduce simple locally focused solutions that encourage residents to consider, for each journey, whether a bike could be used. Research shows more than half of the trips in the capital that could be made by bicycle are in Outer London - a total of 2.4 million journeys a day, most of which are currently made by car.”

For more information on the Bromptondock cycle hire scheme visit http://www.bromptondock.co.uk/