App outage leaves users unable to hire Santander bikes

Riders across London were unable to hire bikes on Wednesday due to issues with the Santander Cycles app.

The disruption meant that app users are were unable to unlock the bikes from docking stations.

Transport for London (TfL) said that the service was now back up and running and that the problems had been caused by an unsuccessful system update by O2.

An O2 spokesperson apologised to customers who were affected by the network issue and said that "teams acted swiftly and were able to fully restore services early this afternoon".

TfL first acknowledged the disruption on Wednesday morning via a notice on its website.

Customers were advised to check the app or the Santander Cycles website for the latest updates on the status of the service.

The scheme has more than 12,000 hire bikes in the capital, with about 800 docking stations across London.

A TfL spokesperson previously said: "We're very sorry for the disruption caused to Santander Cycles customers."

A similar problem happened last year when planned software upgrades overran, leaving users unable to hire bikes and e-bikes via the Santander Cycles app or docking stations on 5 August.

The app has previously faced criticism for issues including repeatedly logging customers out, failing to store payment details and routine crashes.

TfL has previously said it will roll out a "new and improved app" this year for hiring Santander Cycles.