London mayor Boris Johnson has unveiled the capital's new Barclays Cycle Hire scheme, which forms part of wider proposals to increase the number of Londoners taking up cycling.
More than 300 docking stations have been placed every 300m (984ft) apart throughout the centre of London, with 5,000 bicycles available for hire. More than 12,000 members have already signed up.
However, Transport for London (TfL) and operator Serco confirmed that non-members will not be able to hire a bike for at least a month without becoming a member while patterns of usage are monitored.
TfL commissioner Peter Hendy said: "We expect this fantastic new scheme to generate up to 40,000 new cycle journeys every day in London as the capital's cycle revolution rolls on. I have no doubt that Barclays Cycle Hire will change how people get around central London.
"Building on the experience of other world cities who have launched similar schemes, we and our operator, Serco, will use the first month of operation to see how, when and where our members use the scheme, to learn how we can best support our customers."
The first 30 minutes of a journey will be free to users.
