Mayoral candidate Ken Livingstone has suggested that, if elected, he would aim to bring the Barclays Cycle Hire (popularly known as ‘Boris Bikes’) in line with the Capital’s Freedom Pass which allows older and disabled London dwellers free use. The pass which currently covers the likes of tube and bus travel is effectively subsidised by each local authority, meaning they would have to stump up the estimated £250,000 a year extra to cover bikes. Although the bike scheme is sponsored by Barclays it is already technically tax-payer subsidised and runs at a considerable loss – estimated currently at around £15 million a year, but expected to rise to £20 million when the scheme is expanded through the east of the capital. Now, it could be that Livingston genuinely wants older and disabled cyclists to make use of the bikes, but as he made his announcement prior to hustings at Age UK there does seem to be a little bit of opportunism in his timing. Cyclo will keep you posted…
