You can cycle around London for free this month – here’s how

Santander Cycles are parked in their docking station in central London — (Image credit: Rob Stothard / Getty Images)

It feels as though London is flocked with bikes – between the die-hard lyra-donning pedal pushers to the flock of bright green lime bikes, Londoners simply love donning two wheels to get from A to B. Now, cycling around the city just got a little bit lighter on the wallet thanks to Santander bikes.

Across July, TFL will be handing out passes that will let you cycle around the city completely free. On the last day of each week in July, the Santander Cycles Day Pass will have a 100% discount, costing you nada instead of the usual £3.50.

It’s the second year the initiative has run, originally launched in 2024 as part of the Cycle Sundays scheme, which aimed to get city dwellers cycling. Now, it’s making a comeback to help encourage people to use TFL’s fleet of electric bikes.

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Obviously, the free rides are exclusive only to Santander bikes, but there are over 800 docking stations across the city for said bikes, so it will be pretty easy to find a suitable two-wheeler. To get a free ride, you’ll just need to grab one of the discount codes. You can access the codes via the discounts page of the Santander Cycles app. Other than that, you’ll just follow the normal process to unlock and access a bike, just remembering to enter the promo code when you go to checkout, which will give you unlimited 60-minute rides over a 24-hour period.

Commuters on bikes wait at a junction in The City of London

The codes are valid for both normal and e-bikes, although you will need to become a member first, and membership is free.

Although most Londoners, especially seasoned ones rival an old school A-Z of the city’s roads, knowing exactly where they’re heading to and from, as part of the scheme TFL has mapped out a selection beginner friendly routes, in case you want to take time and explore the city rather than the head down pedalling you usually do when you try and shave 5 minutes off a 20 minutes route. There are more than 50 routes spanning across the capital, from scenic scenes in Hampstead Heath to the panoramic views of Primrose Hill.

The codes are:

5 July - CYCLEJULY5
12 July - CYCLEJULY12
19 July - CYCLEJULY19
26 July - CYCLEJULY26

Whether you want to find a docking station, rent a bike, or explore some of the routes, TFL’s website has all the information you need to get biking.

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Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.