Johnson has taken credit for the plan,[9] although the initial concept was announced by his predecessor Ken Livingstone, during the latter's term in office.

[10] Livingstone said that the programme would herald a "cycling and walking transformation in London",[11] and Johnson said that he "hoped the bikes would become as common as black cabs and red buses in the capital".

[17] In August 2007, the Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, announced that he was planning to implement a cycle-hire scheme modelled on the successful Vélib' network in Paris.

A 20-year-old woman, Philippine De Gerin-Ricard, was killed outside Aldgate East Underground station after being struck by a lorry,[26] prompting a protest ride calling for improved separation between cycle routes and other traffic.

[27] Owing to the success of the scheme, major expansions have taken place to increase the number of bikes and docking stations across London.

This expansion added approximately 2,000 more bikes and 150 new docking points, with new stations in the boroughs of Wandsworth, Hammersmith & Fulham, Lambeth and Kensington & Chelsea.

[30] The scheme has continued to expand in recent years, to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in January 2016,[31] and Brixton in February 2018.

[33][1] Vélib', the public bicycle hire scheme in Paris, is much larger with 20,000 bikes and 1,400 stations spread across 450 km².

The one-piece aluminium frame and handlebars conceal cables and fasteners in an effort to protect them from vandalism, damage and inclement weather.

The heavy-duty tyres are designed to be puncture-resistant and are filled with nitrogen to maintain proper inflation pressure longer.

The laser projects a green cycle symbol approximately 15 feet (5 m) in front of the bike to warn drivers and effectively reduce blind angles.

As of August 2018[update], the coverage area is roughly bounded by:[51] The following boroughs are partly or fully covered: Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Camden, Islington, the City, Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lambeth and Wandsworth.

During high load hours the bikes are moved from the busiest stations to the emptiest using trailers pulled by Alkè ATX280E electric vehicles with zero CO2 emissions,[61] and Ford Transit vans with specially designed tail ramps.

The Bixi technology was replaced in mid-2017 for TfL under the new contract with Serco, and now makes use of AI and big data to improve bicycle availability and maintenance.

[64] Only 72,700 of the first 1.4 million journeys earned any revenue, with 44% of income coming from users charged the £150 (US$252) "late return" fees.

[64] With an average £3,370 income per day from journeys, the scheme needed to grow substantially over the following five years to meet its cost.

[67] In May 2012 (before access charges doubled in 2013), TfL estimated that the scheme would cost taxpayers £225M by 2015/16, almost five times the maximum due from Barclays.

[71] The scheme debuted with great fanfare, with more than 90,000 users registering one million cycle rides being taken in the first ten weeks of operation.

[75][76][77][78] The system requires the cyclist to find docking stations close to the points of departure and destination, lacking one of the key advantages of the bicycle in an urban setting.

[82] At the time of launch, anti-arms-trade campaigners protested against Barclays' involvement in the scheme and attached stickers to the bikes highlighting the bank's investment in the arms trade.

A total of 15 awards were received within a year of launch[citation needed] recognising not just the impact on transport in London but also the innovative design, the public relations exercise and the challenging delivery timescales.

[87] Serco, the company contractor for bicycle operations, was repairing more than 30 bikes a day as of February 2011,[87] and at any one time around 200 of the 5,400 strong fleet were off the road for maintenance.