London to launch smart card-based bike sharing program
07 April, 2010
category: Contactless, Transit
London is gearing up the July 30 launch of a citywide bike rental program featuring contactless smart cards, according to squidcard.com.
The system will comprise four hundred docking stations housing some six thousand bikes stationed all over London.
Customers are asked to pay a £3 registration fee, which covers the cost of a contactless smart card that allows riders to quickly and easily unlock the bikes from their docking stations.
The cards also allow system operators to track who has used each bike and when to help prevent theft and vandalism.
The first half hour of travel on the bikes is free, but after that point the price rises dramatically in order to encourage constant bike circulation.
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