The No. 1 thing you should never do when getting a Santander Cycle in London

I love bicycling in London as an occasional visitor. Just a great way to explore, and much faster than walking. And so many cycle routes!

While London has several operators of dockless bike-sharing systems (such as Lime and Forest), I stick to the city’s original bike-sharing system, Santander Cycles (aka Boris Bikes). Like Citibike in NYC and similar systems in other cities, you need to return the bike to a docking station.

All good. Even if I think London could use a denser network of docking stations.

But here’s what you shouldn’t do, at least with an American phone number: Buy your daily pass through the app.

The problem isn’t buying it. The problem is getting the text with the code to release the bike from the docking station. I tried several times, and it never worked.

Far easier is to buy the pass at a docking station with a credit or debit card. Then you just tap the same card on the card reader each time you want to unlock a bike; the machine will recognize that you have a day pass. You still need a code, but it gets spit out on a sheet of paper. If there’s no paper, you get the code via the screen.

My tip: download the app anyway. It shows you nearby docking stations (and availability of bikes and free docking spots). It also has a nifty feature that maps several route options to wherever you want to go — always handy for those of us who don’t always know our way around.

And yes, Santander did refund my money.

Santander Cycles or something else?

I haven’t tried Lime or Forest, but I know people who have used them regularly.

On the plus side for dockless:

-They’re available in some places where Santander Cycles are not. Santander Cycles are barely available outside central London (the Tube’s zone 1).

-Forest gives you 10 free minutes a day. If you’re just getting to the nearest Tube stop, that may be all you need. But if you want to explore, it’s going to cost.

-You can park them anywhere. But … you can be fined if you don’t follow the parking rules. I saw more designated parking areas for dockless bikes, and bikes were (mostly) neatly parked. No more Wild West and bikes sprawled across the sidewalk!

On the plus side for Santander:

-I think it’s cheaper, particularly if you’re willing to forgo the e-bike. My 24-hour pass cost 3.50 pounds (in 2025), and that included an unlimited number of rides up to 60 minutes apiece. Just dock and restart the clock. Should you want an e-bike, it’s another pound for each time you undock one.

I used four traditional bikes, each for less than an hour at a time. Total cost: 3.50 pounds.

The others charge a combination of an unlocking fee plus by the minute. Maybe you’ll have better luck than me finding more details via a quick Google search, but it seems you need to look at their app.

Yes, you can reduce the cost of Forest, for example, by buying bundles of minutes or a monthly pass, but that’s not appealing to most tourists.

(If you just want to do one ride, it’s 1.65 pounds for 30 minutes with Santander.)

Here’s how a London newspaper recently compared them.

How would you describe the positives and negatives of each?

And now for some photos of bike-related signage in London:

Also read: The joys of bicycling on London’s cycle superhighways