Boris Bikes transform urban backwaters into rental hotspots

Areas like Sand’s End and Haggerston may not be familiar to many people but thanks to the expansion of the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme, these former London backwaters are now becoming sought after areas for top tenants. Because they were located miles from public transport hubs, vast swathes of London were dismissed by tenants who are often reliant on the tube or train to get to work. New research by Benham & Reeves Estate Agents shows these areas are now enjoying new found popularity because “Boris Bikes” now mean that the journey to the Tube station is a mere five minute ride away rather than a half hour walk.

Figures confirm that these areas have seen huge jumps in rental returns since Boris Bikes were introduced. While rental returns across London have risen just over five per cent since the first bike stands were installed in July 2010, dramatic gains were seen in areas where the bikes stands were introduced but which were more than a 10 minute walk from a London Underground overground train station.

Marc von Grundherr, director atBenham & Reeves Estate Agents comments, “As the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme has expanded outside of central London and into areas that are a lengthy walk from the Tube, we have seen a dramatic increase in tenant enquiries for those areas. Tenants realise that they can simply ride a Boris Bike down to the station for little or no money at all and do not have to worry about whether their bike is secure.

Tenants also tell us that while they would be unlikely to cycle all the way to work, either because their workplace is too far away or because they do not want to arrive sweaty and red faced, a leisurely cycle down to a nearby Tube station presents no problem.

In light of our research, it’s a good reason for investors into London to thank Boris Johnson for setting this up – well done Boris!”

TfL’s General Manager of the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme, Nick Alworth, said, “We have always known that Barclays Cycle Hire would bring a range of benefits to London, so it’s nice to see some of these further confirmed by this latest research. Since the scheme opened in July 2010, the popular and now iconic bikes have helped change the way people make short journeys across London. More than eight million hires were carried out last year and we expect many millions more to be made during 2014.”