BORIS JOHNSON’S £140M bike-hire scheme is used mostly by rich, middle-aged white men, an official survey has revealed.


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In Transport for London’s annual Travel in London report, figures show that six out of ten of those using the blue bikes enjoy an annual income of over £50,000, nine out of ten are white and seven out of ten come from the 25-44 age group.

Only 5% of hire-bike users earn less than £20,000, even though 40% of Londoners are in that income bracket.

While Johnson subsidises well-heeled cyclists, the London Mayor has decided to hike bus fares and cut bus routes across the capital. Buses are used predominantly by those on lower incomes and disproportionately by old people, children and minority groups.

Next year, the price of a single bus journey will go up from £1.20 to £1.30. Together with similar rises for Tube passengers, the new fares are set to bring in £125M, not far off the £140M the hire scheme will cost.

Even within the cycling budget, Johnson’s spending favours the better off over the less affluent. While he plans to lavish funds on the hire scheme, the Mayor has under spent by tens of millions on other local cycling schemes, especially in the suburbs.