The demand for shared mobility last year grew with both Transport for London (TfL) and Dott reporting record figures in 2021.
TfL’s Santander cycle hire scheme saw more then 10.9 million hires take place in 2021, surpassing the previous best target set in 2018 by 371,000 hires. While Dott, which provides a fleet of both e-scooter and e-bikes, recorded a 130%  increase in trips last year compared to 2020.
Office workers returning after the summer holidays helped contribute to this record year, with September the peak month for both operators. TfL had more than one million hires over the month, the highest volume of Santander Cycles commuter hires since March 2020. With Dott recording an 80% growth in riders and a 120% leap in trips year-on-year.
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “It’s fantastic to see our cycle hire scheme reach such incredible heights, achieving its highest ever hire numbers last year. Not only have we seen a huge rise in cycling since the pandemic, but participation has also broadened, particularly among people from minority ethnic communities.
“In order to keep up this success we need safe roads for cyclists, and we continue to work with boroughs to roll out cycle lanes, extra pavement space and safer junctions. I urge anyone who has been thinking of taking up cycling to give it a go and get riding this year.”
Both operators also expanded services in 2021 with Santander extended it sponsorship of TfL’s cycle hire scheme until 2025 as plans were announced to introduce e-bikes.
Dott grew the size of its fleet of e-scooters across Europe to over 40,000, an increase of 100% on the previous year. E-bikes were introduced from Autumn, with a fleet of 10,000 coming into service in cities including Paris, Brussels, Rome, Milan and Cologne. The e-bike will arrive in more cities in 2022 allowing more people to choose the vehicle which best suits their needs.
Henri Moissinac, co-founder and CEO, Dott, added: “2021 has been a transformational year for Dott, as we reached the milestone of launching e-bikes in major cities across Europe, offering a new choice of vehicle to suit the different needs of our riders.
“The significant growth demonstrates that more people are discovering how Dott unlocks efficient, safe and reliable travel across their cities.”
Additionally, TfL research last year found that one in five people who don’t cycle are now actively considering cycling, which could increase participation levels to more than 40% of Londoners.
It added ensuring that people from all backgrounds feel comfortable cycling is vital to ensure a healthy, green and sustainable recovery from the pandemic, and the research found that half of Black and Asian non-cyclists, 49% and 46% respectively, are open to starting to cycle.
