The public transport bike is a familiar feature on Dutch streets. They can be hired quickly at a modest fee [by those who can identify themselves as subscribers to the system]. Thus one can cycle to one’s destination from most Dutch stations now. Last year the British were able to get acquainted with the concept when the Dutch Railway Company (NS) employed some of them during Olympic Game events. The British daughter company of the NS, Abellio, will now widely introduce the concept in London and in the North of England including cities like Manchester and Liverpool where Abellio operates transport lines. The bicycles will be adapted to British requirements and will probably feature gears and hand brakes. A credit card system will be used to facilitate rental [without deposit].
By now the rental bike is available in the Netherlands at more than 240 locations. The number of subscribers increased from 100.000 to roughly 140.000 during 2012. More than 1.200.000 trips were made, both by private and corporate users. The latter include NS-Business Card users. During 2012 as many as 15 new Dutch rental locations were opened and at busy locations rental bikes were added to the existing stock.