London's public bicycle scheme is a great way to travel around the city - and the first half an hour is free! Grab yourself a "Boris bike" and get riding today.

London's public bike sharing scheme is available 24/7, 365 days a year. There are more than 8,000 bikes and over 550 bike docking stations across the city to help you get around quickly and easily. More than 22 million journeys have been made on the bikes since the scheme's launch in 2010.

The "Boris bikes" (named after London's Mayor Boris Johnson) are available to casual users - including non-UK residents - as well as members.

Getting started is easy – simply hire a bike, ride it where you like, then return it to any of the hundreds of docking stations across the city.

Bikes can be hired by the day, week or year – based on a small registration fee (£2 to register for a 24 hour period – you will need a debit or credit card to pay). Once you’ve registered, Barclays bikes are free to use for the first 30 minutes; payments then increase depending on how long you use the bike.

Visit TfL's Barclays Cycle Hire web page to find out more, get maps and cycle routes and keep up to date with bike availability at your nearest docking station for hiring and returning the bikes.

There is also a Barclays Bikes app available on iOS and Android which shows the docking station locations and bike and docking station availability. You can follow the scheme on Twitter too: @BarclaysCycle

When you've finished your journey, just drop the bike back to one of the many docking stations across London. Cycle Hire docking stations are located across nine London boroughs and in several Royal Parks in Central London.

If you want to hire a bike for a full day or longer, it may be cheaper to rent it from one of London's many bicycle hire companies.

How To Join London's Bike Hire Scheme

If you're planning on using the bikes regularly, sign up online at TfL's Barclays Cycle Hire web page for a membership key (which costs £3 a year). The key gives you quick access to unlock a bike and you can keep track of your bike hire payments via an online account.

Cycle Hire Access Fees

£2 one day

£10 one week (7 days)

£90 annual membership

Cycle Hire Usage Charges

Free up to 30 minutes

£1 from 30 minutes to 1 hour

£4 up to 1.5 hours

£6 up to 2 hours

£10 up to 2.5 hours

£15 up to 3 hours

£35 up to 6 hours

£50 up to 24 hours (maximum usage fee)

Penalties and Other Charges

If you don't return your bike, or you bring it back late or damaged, you may be charged up to £300.

Check www.tfl.gov.uk/barclayscyclehire for more information.

Barclays Cycle Superhighways in London

Barclays Cycle Superhighways are cycle lanes into Central London from outer London. The bright blue Cycle Superhighways aim to provide cyclists with safer, faster and more direct journeys into the city. Four Barclays Cycle Superhighways have launched to date:

CS2: Bow to Aldgate

CS3: Barking to Tower Gateway

CS7: Merton to the City

CS8 Wandsworth to Westminster Eight more of these cycle lanes are planned by 2015.