By Alessandra Prentice
LONDON (Reuters) - A fleet of 6,000 bicycles for hire will hit the streets of central London on Friday when the city's mayor Boris Johnson launches a scheme intended to fuel a cycling revolution in the congested capital.
The initiative, which follows similar projects in cities including Paris and Montreal, aims to ease overcrowding on London's commuter network, with 400 bicycle "docking stations" from Notting Hill in the west to the Tower of London in the east.
"The new system could transform the way Londoners as well as tourists navigate the city," said a spokesman for Transport for London (TFL), the capital's main travel authority.
Nicknamed "Boris's Bikes" after cycle-mad Mayor Boris Johnson, the system is free for the first half hour, although the rate rises steeply if the cycles are used for longer periods, with a maximum daily charge of 50 pounds ($78).
London has tried to learn lessons from Paris and Montreal, making changes to prevent vandalism and theft, problems which plagued the French and Canadian systems to begin with, the spokesman said.
Initially, many of Paris's hire bikes or "Vélibs" were thrown in the River Seine or discovered for sale in markets in Africa, he said.
At a hefty 23 kg (51 lb), the London bike's weight will discourage thieves as well as cutting out the wobbles for less confident cyclists, he added.
STURDY AND SAFE
A Reuters journalist who tested out one of the blue and silver bikes in the busy traffic around Trafalgar Square found it sturdy and safe but felt its design sacrificed speed for stability.
Cycling has become fashionable in Britain in recent years, helped by the British Olympic cycling team which won eight gold medals at the 2008 Games
An estimated 500,000 bike journeys are made each day in the capital. Mayor Johnson cycled around the velodrome this week to mark the two-year countdown to the London Olympics.
The cycle hire scheme is just one in a series of moves by Johnson to make the winding, traffic-choked streets of the capital more bike-friendly.
Motorists have to pay a daily congestion charge if they drive into the city center.
Two new bright blue "cycle superhighways" were unveiled this week, providing cyclists with extra road space and better visibility at traffic lights.
Cyclists often have to jostle for space alongside London's red buses and black taxis and shouting matches between riders and drivers are common.
"If these plans work out and there are more bikes on the road and fewer cars, London will be a better place," London cab driver Peter Makin told Reuters.
British services giant Serco secured a 140 million-pound ($220 million) six-year contract with TFL to set up the bike hire scheme, 25 million of which was recouped with sponsorship from British banking giant Barclays.
(Editing by Andrew Roche)
