TfL has pledged to roll out a “new and improved app” next year for hiring Santander Cycles after a series of complaints from users, including that it logs customers out every time it’s opened, does not store payment details and consistently crashes, says the BBC.

More than half of total hires of the bicycles are done using the app. An IT issue due to a software update earlier this month also led to cyclists being unable to hire the bikes through the app and docking stations – leaving more than 12,000 bikes out of use.

Users have complained that “the scheme is failing” and “the service is worsening”, with the only way to request a refund is to “call or send an e-mail, which one hardly has time to do while on your way.”

Another user said that the service “hasn’t worked properly for months” and “fundamentally doesn’t work”.

He mentioned that neither the app nor the docking stations are compatible with Apple Pay, and that the app logs users out every time they open it, calling the user experience “awful”. When experiencing issues with faulty bikes, he also said it was “near on impossible” to contact TfL to report them.

In response, TfL said: “[We have] a call centre that operates seven days a week.

“Customers can also report broken bikes at our docking stations. Each dock has a red ‘spanner’ button which can be pressed to notify our operational teams that there is a fault with the bike. Once the button is activated the bike is locked in to prevent other users from hiring the bike. Our on-street teams are then sent out to triage the bike.”

TfL’s head of cycle hire David Eddington has promised that the new app will be “more reliable” and said that they plan to introduce this next year.

(Pic: Yay Images)