Santander Cycles is the self-service, bike-sharing scheme for short journeys in inner London.
The official Santander Cycles app from Transport for London is the only app to send bike release codes straight to your smartphone. So you can skip past the docking station terminal and get on your bike quicker.
Simply register with your bank card, and use the app to ‘Hire now’ from a nearby docking station. Follow the instructions to get your bike release code. Tap the code into the docking point and you’re good to go!
You can also:
• See up-to-the-minute information about which docking stations have bikes and spaces available
• Plan a journey with an easy to follow map
• Receive notifications – for example, summarising the cost at the end of your hire
• View your recent journeys and charges
• Save your favourite docking stations
• Become a London Rider - complete challenges and hire cycles to earn entries into a weekly prize draw!
Each bike release code is valid for 10 minutes at your chosen docking station.
Please note the app doesn’t reserve bikes. If there are no bikes available at the docking station, don’t worry. Use the app to find a nearby docking station with bikes, and get another bike release code to use there. You won’t be charged until you use the release code.
You must be 18 or over to hire a bike, and 14 or over to ride one. For full Santander Cycles terms and conditions, see tfl.gov.uk/santandercycles
Santander Cycles Negative Reviews
App won’t accept Non-U.K bank infoI just called Santander cycle customer service, they specifically said if you do not have a UK bank account and UK phone number, the app will not work for you. Please make this clear when someone downloads this app.
However, I can still use my physical credit card from the US at the kiosk by the Santander cycle rentals.
Again, developers, please make this information visible to people who just download the app. Or push to change it to accept U.S Credit Cards in the app..Benlc91Version: 4.0.35
Don’t UsePlease don’t use the app. For whatever reason the issues are not resolved and they end up overcharging the credit card. They then promise you a credit within a few days. Never happens. Please use cash if you can. Customer service completely unhelpful. Small amounts but nightmare from hell. Love the cycles but lousy support. Over charged 20 gbp so far.....XxXGibranXxXVersion: 4.0.11
BrokenI used it for 5 months then When I needed it At 2 am to cycle home I couldn’t rent a bike. First it kept asking me for more payment details but would not accept them. Then they told be to redownload the app so I did and now it shows 0 bikes 0 docks anywhere and says error. How unsafe people depend on this!.PpwhitVersion: 4.0.20
Waste of timeGot a bunch of codes that I was charged for and none worked! Ended up getting codes from the Kiosk and some didn’t work as well... we needed 4 bikes and it was such a hassle... at the end you don’t really know what was charged and how much you paid extra!.StravooVersion: 4.0.16
Unable to enter a credit cardJust wouldn't work, on app or website. In each received only cryptic error messages. Perhaps because I have a U.S. credit card?.Nick KronfeldVersion: 4.0.27
Registration process is too difficultSeveral improvements can be made to make the registration smoother.
1. Browser auto-fill
2. Sign up w Apple or Google
3. Reduce information collection such as home address. Is that really necessary?
4. Allow sign up without a UK phone number, that will make it more tourist friendly
Otherwise the bikes are great and price is reasonable. Although all 3 bikes I rode had weak brakes in my experience..Setman85Version: 4.0.33
Does not work with international cardsNow you can ONLY use the app . And kiosks don’t release codes . Brilliant idea when non of the international cards are working with your app . Have no trouble paying for anything in london using these 3 banks from USA . Your app would not accept ANY ..AnyabaguiVersion: 4.0.24
False ChargesI tried creating an account and the app kept saying the payment failed and could not create an account. However when I looked at my bank account I noticed that it charged me 4 times for the 4 attempts I made to create an account..AjdknfvjlkwVersion: 4.0.10
HorribleHorrible sign up process that won’t let me add my card even after completing all steps correctly, the ‘submit card details’ button doesn’t light up.
Also, it’s 2023 let us use Apple pay!.Die_no_mightVersion: 4.0.27
Horribly confusing and out for your dataAbsolutely terrible. Confusing and just looking for your data. I gave up after 10 minutes of trying..Soccerguy321OVVersion: 4.0.27
Not for touristsThe app account requires a text message which won’t work for US phones. The stations won’t complete a rental with a US card. Wasted an hour.George98034Version: 4.0.34
Frustrating for US visitorsWasted 20 minutes trying to get this set up only to find after calling support the app won’t text us based numbers to verify your account - very very lame.JbmeditatorVersion: 4.0.28
Did not workCould not set up account due to a technical glitch. Also my bank account was charged 3 times without being able to set up the account. This was verified with customer service..Bookreader001Version: 4.0.7
Horrible appThe app simply does not allow you to use your membership when attempting to rent a bike, even when you’ve already paid for the membership.Solok89Version: 4.0.31
Terrible connectivityNice functionality but virtually unusable — keeps crashing or complaining about the lack of Internet connection while there’s a strong signal and all other apps are working just fine.Victord1960Version: 4.0.5
Worst public bike rental everFirst of all logging does not support iOS password manager. Address look up is not working because of internal mongo DB failure. Does not support Apple Pay or PayPal, and my credit card payment got rejected for no reason..YoungsterduckVersion: 4.0.34
Signup not workingSignup not working for an address outside the UK. You can just go to the bike locations and use a credit card to rent if it’s a short term rental. No need for the app.
Why can’t this app use Apple Pay and Apple login to remove most of their signup steps?.BerricksVersion: 4.0.9
You paid too much for nothingVery bad service, it is not available 24 hours. The system occasionally down and you can’t even hire a bike through this slow and heavy app..FoolwazeVersion: 4.0.5
Horrible experienceAll my cards are systematically declined when trying to get an annual subscription. There’s no way to contact customer service..SalahidinVersion: 4.0.18
Wont accept usa addressEnough said. Get nasty sdk error flashing and immediately after some other strange message ab field formats
Between this an RingGo not accepting usa phone number, doesn’t uk want our tourist dollars?.DjwockyVersion: 4.0.21
App just DO NOT WORKTried to register, it asked for a card. I entered my address in USA. It didn’t said anything, no error, but button to “submit card details” remain inactive.
App is unusable. Totally useless..TrtrtrtVersion: 4.0.15
Cannot register - app hangs at Enter AddressMaybe this app is great, maybe not. I’ll never know. Repeated attempts to register have all failed at the “Enter your address” part. It hangs on an endlessly spinning wheel..Utterly Useless Pointless RubbishVersion: 4.0.9
Feels clunky, is clunky at timesI don’t expect too much from this app but the UI needs to be updated for iPhone X..RavvivandoVersion: 4.0.5
NotificationsYour free cycle hire next Sunday notification is coming through every 15seconds, please stop it I’ve had over 20 already!.EmdavittVersion: 4.0.9
Read the terms carefullyThought I could hire the bike for £2 over a 24 hour period, ending up paying £20 after I realized you need to dock the bike afterward 30 min of use. Clever marketing ploy..Pzcd790Version: 4.0.4
Can’t use it!This app doesn’t work with a US phone and credit card. Super disappointing..Solomon magnusVersion: 4.0.28
Crashes immediately on loadDoes not seem to updated for iOS 12.MohthomVersion: 4.0.5
ProblemCreated an account, tried 3 different credits and kept getting message saying bank not approved. I’m from the USA!.Tereas's iTunesVersion: 4.0.9
Always crashesSo many times it will not load or need to connect to WiFi it says..... ughhhh.GiguyfgifVersion: 4.0.5
Five stars for the bikes, minus three for the appThe app is way too buggy and slow. What a shame..F222274Version: 4.0.23
AwfulI tried to register 3 times, but it says that my card was declined, but it wasn’t. So I practically gave you 6£ as a present..Tania_bekkerVersion: 4.0.9
Full of bugsLots of problems with payment flow. UI very clunky..Hamilton_concordeVersion: 4.0.5
UselessWho designed this app? A five year old child could do a better job.
The 'Signup' page is very confusing and lacking adequate instructions. Having only one field to enter a password without a second confirmation field is big mistake.
The obligatory spam/junk email avoidance questions are not 100% clear if you are actually agreeing to receive junk emails etc from TFL and Santander or opting out of this.
Then before pressing 'next step' you are not given any indication that your smartphone will switch to camera mode in order to capture an image of your payment card. This didn't work at all and the app wouldn't respond to the 'cancel' or 'enter manually' options. What should be a simple process was very frustrating. Needs a lot of refinement.
And disappointingly it only appears you can only essentially hire one bike at a time - it's useless if you are with family/friends and want to take out a couple of bike on the one account.
In addition the 'status' of bikes or spaces available at individual docking stations displayed on the app is not a 'live' reflection of actual conditions. I'm not sure what the delay is but kinda makes this element a waste of time unless it's updated accurately and more frequently..PhotonomadVersion: 3.95
Unreliable. Crashing.I downloaded the app at one of the stations. It crashed several times while trying to set up an account. Even after restarting it, he continues to crash. When trying to use the map function you get about 15 seconds maximum before the app crashes while trying to pan around and find a bike station.
The bikes are a great idea but this app does not support them well. I ended up using the touchscreen at the station and just wiping my credit card without creating an account..Aussie wakeboarderVersion: 3.98
Absolutely appalling - complete scamAfter clearly indicating that the charge was £2 per day and the first 30 mins were free we decided to hire the bikes. We were charged the £2 pounds and were very happy until we were charged another £8 pounds 2 days later. Apparently this is there standard operating practice. A complete scam. Don't touch..MARviKmarkVersion: 4.0.2
Always crashingThis app literally crashes for me after an hour or so, and then will crash every time it opens from then. Have to delete and redownload in order to get it to work again. Not ideal when you are in a hurry.Mamela eishVersion: 4.0
AwfulThe old Barclays Bikes App wasn't great but it was much more useful than this app (and I wish I still had it, if only to locate stations more effectively). This app needed a lot more planning and testing. Difficult to use in so many ways. Needs a substantial revision..NYC is homeVersion: 3.95
Crashes all the timeJust downloaded this app and it has crashed twice in less than 5 minutes. Good thing I kept the old Barclays cycle hire app. This app is unusable..HhtttttVersion: 3.98
CrashesApplication keeps crashing every time you try to register..Artemu_Version: 3.98
Constant CrashCrashes every time I try to put payment info in..MattWHNVersion: 3.98
Only works with UK credit cardUseless if you're not a UK credit card holder..Smithsd1Version: 3.95
What a shamePoor UI. Poor performance..ZCIOVersion: 4.0
Took money, no bikeThey don’t seem to work well with international numbers, at least not with US ones. They gladly take it without verification, take money for a bike and then when you try to get one, send you an sms code that never arrives.
Overall, an app is poorly made, slow..GlebKholVersion: 4.0.35
Worst cycle hire in the worldI cannot put into words how much i despise using their app. The ui is atrocious, nothing ever works. Their physical hire machines are also rubbish. I hope someone acquires the company and runs it into the ground..Sweet opsVersion: 4.0.35
Worst user interface for a cycle sharing appWORST USER INTERFACE. Always bugging, never recognizes my subscriptions.AbbyaalmVersion: 4.0.32
Not for CanadiansDoesn’t accept Canadian postal codes for the credit card registration..CreegganVersion: 4.0.28
Won’t work for Canadian cardsAs others have said, the 3DS verification does not work for Canadian credit cards..David loukiVersion: 4.0.28
Totally useless! App freezes and won’t let you hire a bikeAn app built to hire a bike has one job. This app fails. I’ve tried entering my details many times to hire a bike and the app crashes every time . Don’t waste your time..NuggaagguNVersion: 4.0.28
Very difficult to set up… can only rent one bike at a time with the appThis app was very difficult to set up. I signed up online initially, then downloaded the app. After I signed into the app, I had to re-enter all my info once again (name, address, phone, etc.). The first time I tried to rent a bike, I had to re-enter my payment info, and re-confirm it a second time. Wry difficult and time consuming - it took over an hour just to set it up.
Normally you can rent up to 4 bikes with the same payment card, but the machine was not working at Kensington Gardens Palace Gate, so I tried to use the app - but was unsuccessful because the app only allows one bike per account.
My overall experience was very painful, so I wouldn’t recommend using this company to anyone..StarWarsBuff68Version: 4.0.28
Does not allow adding Canadian credit cardsThere is something up with very lame security checks for the card add.
Errors all the time with RBC and Neo financial. TD seems to go though but I can’t 2factor approve with the 3DS because I don’t have that Canadian sim installed here.
No Apple Pay.
Very bad system..James………Version: 4.0.27
App is clunkyI downloaded the app, successfully imputed my cc details, which was a challenge in itself because my home address is Canada, and tried unsuccessfully to use the app to book a bike.
paying with cc directly at the station seems to work fine..DarrenMmannVersion: 4.0.26
Does not workWill reject attempts to create accounts for Canadians in London. Probably not intentionally. Still no restrictions were provided..A SpiralVersion: 4.0.9
App is Fraud. Apple to remove from App StoreFraud. Take my word for it. Don’t waste your time..IrrelevantbutastuteVersion: 4.0.5
Codes sent by app don’t workThe release codes sent by the app aren’t working. Call support and they just say it’s a known issue and to reinstall the app... still won’t work..Jubjub006Version: 4.0.4
Why do you keep asking to confirm payment detailsVery annoying when you need to reserve a bike and you are pressed for time!.BrioPackVersion: 4.0.3
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