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- 77.5SAFETY SCORE
- 4+CONTENT RATING
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Santander Cycles App Complaints & User Negative Comments 2024
Santander Cycles app received 113 complaints, negative comments and reviews by users. Have you ever had a bad experience using Santander Cycles? Can you share your negative thoughts about santander cycles?
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Santander Cycles for Negative User Reviews
✓ Just not good enoughWe use this app with my wife for two months already. It is working on one phone well, it is crashing on the other phone very often. Biggest problem is it doesn’t show you how much you really spend, it counts first 30 minutes of each trip “like for free” but it is not true. The system charges you £2 each day you use some bike. This cost is not visible in the app. The other think is that the free spaces or available bikes in racks are not accurate, you can not rely on it at all. Sometimes you find the rack where 5 bikes are supposed to be but there is only one, sometimes you want to park your bike to the rack where 4 free spaces are supposed to be but there is none..Version: 4.0.11
✓ NotificationsYour free cycle hire next Sunday notification is coming through every 15seconds, please stop it I’ve had over 20 already!.Version: 4.0.9
✓ Could not registerSMS confirmation code would not work Also you can only use one bike at a time not family friendly.Version: 4.0.4
✓ Payments still will not work!I’ve been using Santander Cycles for years with an annual subscription and every time it comes up for renewal I have a feeling of dread. The payment feature in the app simply does not work 90% of the time meaning you have to try multiple times for it to not crash or decline payment. The app will logout each time you try so you end up wasting so much time it really is an incredibly frustrating experience. If you do manage to get setup with a subscription, the app does generally work quite well making it a relatively easy process to access their bikes. Please please please just fix the payment issues which have been a problem for years!.Version: 4.0.32
✓ Codes sent by app don’t workThe release codes sent by the app aren’t working. Call support and they just say it’s a known issue and to reinstall the app... still won’t work..Version: 4.0.4
✓ Worst app I've ever usedIf you have already paid for the full year and only need this app to unlock bikes it is bad but usable. However if you try and use this app to hire bikes on an ad hoc basis it is simply atrocious. It tries to scan your card details using the camera but this works 0% of the time. It then ask you to enter your card number and expiry date instead, upon entering this it takes you to a new screen to enter the rest of your card details and when you press save it informs you that it can't continue as you haven't entered your expiry date! Even though you did this in the previous screen! On top of all this if you did manage, by a small miracle, to get the app to accept your card details it will not remember them for next time so you have to go through the whole adventure again. Probably easier to just walk. This app comes across as a poorly designed beta version that is awaiting fixes yet this is the live app!.Version: 4.0.3
✓ App just DO NOT WORKTried to register, it asked for a card. I entered my address in USA. It didn’t said anything, no error, but button to “submit card details” remain inactive. App is unusable. Totally useless..Version: 4.0.15
✓ Worst user interface for a cycle sharing appWORST USER INTERFACE. Always bugging, never recognizes my subscriptions.Version: 4.0.32
✓ Feels clunky, is clunky at timesI don’t expect too much from this app but the UI needs to be updated for iPhone X..Version: 4.0.5
✓ Did not workCould not set up account due to a technical glitch. Also my bank account was charged 3 times without being able to set up the account. This was verified with customer service..Version: 4.0.7
✓ Entirely unintuitive sign upIt took me over two hours to set up an account and I needed to use both my app and my laptop for it to finally work. In total I was charged eight times. I did ultimately get to have the bike work but I was (obviously) unable to go where I had wanted to go. This process needs to improve..Version: 4.0.11
✓ Unreliable. Crashing.I downloaded the app at one of the stations. It crashed several times while trying to set up an account. Even after restarting it, he continues to crash. When trying to use the map function you get about 15 seconds maximum before the app crashes while trying to pan around and find a bike station. The bikes are a great idea but this app does not support them well. I ended up using the touchscreen at the station and just wiping my credit card without creating an account..Version: 3.98
✓ Registration process is too difficultSeveral improvements can be made to make the registration smoother. 1. Browser auto-fill 2. Sign up w Apple or Google 3. Reduce information collection such as home address. Is that really necessary? 4. Allow sign up without a UK phone number, that will make it more tourist friendly Otherwise the bikes are great and price is reasonable. Although all 3 bikes I rode had weak brakes in my experience..Version: 4.0.33
✓ Not for CanadiansDoesn’t accept Canadian postal codes for the credit card registration..Version: 4.0.28
✓ ProblemCreated an account, tried 3 different credits and kept getting message saying bank not approved. I’m from the USA!.Version: 4.0.9
✓ UnusableGoing to add my review to the chorus of others saying that this app is now totally broken. It's now impossible to add your card details, and therefore impossible to actually hire a bike with the app. Looks like whoever did the 3DS update bungled the job, and presumably it was a contractor or something as it appears the app is now abandonware and they're no longer updating it. Can't they at least open it up to 3rd parties so that we can hire through Citymapper or something like that? I'll also add that, even before the broken update, the app was generally pretty shoddy with poor usability and plenty of little glitches. Baffles me that a company as big as Santander can't get it together enough to run a fairly basic app like this one..Version: 4.0.21
✓ Does not work with international cardsNow you can ONLY use the app . And kiosks don’t release codes . Brilliant idea when non of the international cards are working with your app . Have no trouble paying for anything in london using these 3 banks from USA . Your app would not accept ANY ..Version: 4.0.24
✓ AwfulI tried to register 3 times, but it says that my card was declined, but it wasn’t. So I practically gave you 6£ as a present..Version: 4.0.9
✓ UnreliableTried to register twice and my card is not accepted, this is a major card accepted everywhere else. There's no way to save my details so every time I have to fill in all the details from the start. A few times used the app to find cycles and sometimes it gives wrong info about bikes in stations. The map is clunky. Apparently the issue with the cards is a known issue to the customer services. However, they haven’t bothered to send an email around to customers. They are still sorting this out, already 2 weeks have passed..Version: 4.0.21
✓ Horrible appThe app simply does not allow you to use your membership when attempting to rent a bike, even when you’ve already paid for the membership.Version: 4.0.31
✓ Just a loading spinnerPoorly designed app that just gets stuck on loading spinners. Have to keep force quitting it. The people that make this app need to look at what lime, bird and Uber are doing in their scooter hire apps. There you can get access in like two taps via apple sign in and Apple Pay , the Santander app is like a ten minute convoluted process to get access as it rambles only about subscriptions even when you’re getting just the 24 hour access. And when you do get to the end, you just get stuck on a loading screen 🤷🏼♂️🤦🏼♂️ Also the price for the scheme is very expensive. £4 for just under an hour? Might as well take a bus..Version: 4.0.18
✓ Absolutely appalling - complete scamAfter clearly indicating that the charge was £2 per day and the first 30 mins were free we decided to hire the bikes. We were charged the £2 pounds and were very happy until we were charged another £8 pounds 2 days later. Apparently this is there standard operating practice. A complete scam. Don't touch..Version: 4.0.2
✓ Early Experience is poorI haven’t even got as far as hiring a bike yet, but I did try yesterday and was defeated by the poorly implemented app. Little details like not prompting my phone to recognise a password field, and hence to offer to generate a secure password, made it too frustrating. Today I’ve tried to sign up to an account on the web - not possible unless you want a physical key which I don’t. And I can’t register a credit card until I purchase a rental, which will inevitably mean faffing about scanning credit cards etc when I’m on a busy London street instead of doing it from my own desk..Version: 4.0.17
✓ False ChargesI tried creating an account and the app kept saying the payment failed and could not create an account. However when I looked at my bank account I noticed that it charged me 4 times for the 4 attempts I made to create an account..Version: 4.0.10
✓ Worst app in the App StoreThis is by far the works app that one can create for this service. Have been using it for 2 years plus and since the bugs were never fixed. I would suggest keeping the key at all times with you as the app can work today but tomorrow not. iPhone X is out 1 year but the app is still not optimised (I think it was originally created for iPhone 5). I hope tfl doesn’t use my transport money to pay the developers for this app as the app is worthless and created a lot of frustration repeatedly. I would suggest that tfl either discontinue their online office or contract a new developer for a brand new app. Do not download this app and do not waste your time..Version: 4.0.5
✓ Only works with UK credit cardUseless if you're not a UK credit card holder..Version: 3.95
✓ Does not workCharged me multiple times during sign up process, had to call customer service multiple times with no solution, wasted 30 minutes on this..Version: 4.0.4
✓ Good for One bikeDoesn't allow you to rent more than one bike at a time like the kiosks do. Otherwise it works great!.Version: 4.0.2
✓ Works great….if you can manage to loginUsed to use this app daily however for the past year I have not been able to use it as I can’t login. I try entering the same login details I use to access my account on the desktop site without issue but just keep getting pop up error message of “sorry but your login in wasn’t successful. Please check your details and try again”. Now use a key but would prefer to be back using this app. Was told by Customer Service team on the phone (when ordering my key) that this was known issue for the developer but following multiple version updates since then I find this issue still persists. Disappointing..Version: 4.0.32
✓ Very difficult to set up… can only rent one bike at a time with the appThis app was very difficult to set up. I signed up online initially, then downloaded the app. After I signed into the app, I had to re-enter all my info once again (name, address, phone, etc.). The first time I tried to rent a bike, I had to re-enter my payment info, and re-confirm it a second time. Wry difficult and time consuming - it took over an hour just to set it up. Normally you can rent up to 4 bikes with the same payment card, but the machine was not working at Kensington Gardens Palace Gate, so I tried to use the app - but was unsuccessful because the app only allows one bike per account. My overall experience was very painful, so I wouldn’t recommend using this company to anyone..Version: 4.0.28
✓ Unable to enter a credit cardJust wouldn't work, on app or website. In each received only cryptic error messages. Perhaps because I have a U.S. credit card?.Version: 4.0.27
✓ Best used together with Bike Citizens or CitymapperIn an ideal world you would use only this app to find a route to your destination AND pay for it. In the real world, the Bike Citizens app provides EXCELLENT navigation (including availability of bikes/spaces at the start/finish of your journey), and use this Santander Cycles app only for payment. Citymapper is free and has the same functionality as Bike Citizens but the routing isn’t nearly as good. Its useful for public transport in general though. For payments the Santander app only works with cards issued and registered to a UK address. Finally, don’t rely on Santander Cycles alerts to warn you when you are close to the 30mins limit - they are often too late. Instead try a ‘Hey Siri, set timer for 25 minutes’ to give yourself time to dock. Please mark this review as helpful if you found it so to share the knowledge. Happy riding!.Version: 4.0.10
✓ BrokenI used it for 5 months then When I needed it At 2 am to cycle home I couldn’t rent a bike. First it kept asking me for more payment details but would not accept them. Then they told be to redownload the app so I did and now it shows 0 bikes 0 docks anywhere and says error. How unsafe people depend on this!.Version: 4.0.20
✓ App-Subscription Stopped WorkingSince almost 10 days, the subscriptions got burned, app has a big technical error for apple iphone user customer. No one helped. I am phoning , emailing. No help. No compensation. I cant use my susbscription that I paid for + not even able to process 1 time hire option in an urgent situation as app gives me error on back end saying you already have a previous request for hire kind of…….. What kind of a business is this. There should be some way to fix this. This is my only transport in London and this issue got me in so much struggle going to work! This is not OK..Version: 4.0.31
✓ Rejects card but takes paymentAfter many many attempts to get my Australian Mastercard and Visa accepted, I give up. Still have theee charges pending on my bank account though. Considering it’s run by a bank, it seems pretty shoddy..Version: 4.0.24
✓ Not up to scratchYou’d think after all these years and with so many users the developers would get the basics right! Had a very frustrating time signing up by the app which kept saying my payment was declined despite 5 x £90 being ring fenced in my bank account which then took over a week to clear. In the end I joined by phone. Having been using the app on a daily basis for the last two weeks I’ve found it to be hit and miss - often when trying to hire a bike I get a message saying no internet connection when clearly there is. I see other reviewers have made the same point. I’ve now got a key which is much quicker and easier to use - so will only resort to the app as a back up..Version: 4.0.9
✓ Totally useless! App freezes and won’t let you hire a bikeAn app built to hire a bike has one job. This app fails. I’ve tried entering my details many times to hire a bike and the app crashes every time . Don’t waste your time..Version: 4.0.28
✓ UselessWho designed this app? A five year old child could do a better job. The 'Signup' page is very confusing and lacking adequate instructions. Having only one field to enter a password without a second confirmation field is big mistake. The obligatory spam/junk email avoidance questions are not 100% clear if you are actually agreeing to receive junk emails etc from TFL and Santander or opting out of this. Then before pressing 'next step' you are not given any indication that your smartphone will switch to camera mode in order to capture an image of your payment card. This didn't work at all and the app wouldn't respond to the 'cancel' or 'enter manually' options. What should be a simple process was very frustrating. Needs a lot of refinement. And disappointingly it only appears you can only essentially hire one bike at a time - it's useless if you are with family/friends and want to take out a couple of bike on the one account. In addition the 'status' of bikes or spaces available at individual docking stations displayed on the app is not a 'live' reflection of actual conditions. I'm not sure what the delay is but kinda makes this element a waste of time unless it's updated accurately and more frequently..Version: 3.95
✓ Why do you keep asking to confirm payment detailsVery annoying when you need to reserve a bike and you are pressed for time!.Version: 4.0.3
✓ Crashes immediately on loadDoes not seem to updated for iOS 12.Version: 4.0.5
✓ Such a frustrating bugI’ve updated my card details. Every time I try and hire a cycle, it prompts me to ‘scan my card’ to - I assume - update card details. So, I re-update and get an error message saying this account is already registered and I need to log out and log in again. I have uninstalled and reinstalled the app, switched my phone on and off, reset my phone, the works. It simply refuses to acknowledge I have already updated my card. I have called TfL customer services and the poor chap on the end of the phone says he has been getting this complaint for a few weeks now. Please, App Developer, sort it out!!.Version: 4.0.21
✓ Five stars for the bikes, minus three for the appThe app is way too buggy and slow. What a shame..Version: 4.0.23
✓ Not a happy rideWe downloaded the app and created an account. We tried repeatedly to have a code sent to us so we could rent a bike. After waiting about 30 minutes we called the customer service helpline and they told us that the app does not work to rent bicycles because they’re having problems. She then told us to rent the bike directly from the terminal. I explained the terminal said we could only rent the bike through the app. We then proceeded to the next station and had the same exact problem. I highly recommend using a different company to rent a bike..Version: 4.0.24
✓ DisgracefulThis service is STILL run by total idiots. My key stopped working AGAIN because they failed to renew my membership, even though I have been a member for a decade, because my bank changed my debit card. Anyone with an IQ in triple figures would employ direct debit and / or Apple Pay to avoid this problem, but these halfwits insist on debit cards. Moreover, the bloody app does not inform you of the problem, you only find out when you try to hire a bike. And then the service fails to authorise a replacement card Previously, my key stopped working was apparently because the price changed. My electricity price changes monthly but they don’t cut me off. I did not receive an email to warn me - nor did the app, which I am logged into, inform me of any change. Then the website turned down three attempts to pay by credit card and it does not offer an Apple Pay option..Version: 4.0.29
✓ Cycle Hire App is better.What should have been a carbon copy of Cycle Hire - or just bought them out - is instead an in your face, don't forget this is Santander, overly sponsored, clunky app. It does add a feature to hire a bike through your phone - but only get the app when you want to do that. Otherwise - Cycle Hire is much better..Version: 3.95
✓ HorribleHorrible sign up process that won’t let me add my card even after completing all steps correctly, the ‘submit card details’ button doesn’t light up. Also, it’s 2023 let us use Apple pay!.Version: 4.0.27
✓ Payment flow is incredibly painfulWhen you’re outside in the cold trying to get a bike quickly the last thing you want is an app that makes payment difficult ! First of all the app seems to know nothing about payment cards registered on the website, and that’s a bit crazy. If you try to renew in the app, you have to enter full card details again AND your full address even if you have a card saved in your website account, which takes ages and sometimes doesn’t even work ! How about adding Apple Pay or AT LEAST saving card details when you renew an access period, and of course using saved card details from the website..Version: 4.0.4
✓ So disappointedI am able to log in on the website, but cannot log in via the app. New to biking and moved closer to work and thought I would give cycling a go not just because it would be quicker to get to/from work. Rather than catching two buses. I’ve paid the £2 and also requested a key, to get a voice mail to say I have to call 0300 number from my mobile (cost more money!) can’t log into the app as I put my email and password and it says logged in, after I chose the bike station, and press continue the following error keeps coming up “error Parameter ‘type’ must be provided and this has happened for the 4th day in a row now, so most likely going to cancel and delete the app. Greatly disappointed!!!.Version: 4.0.4
✓ Way to ruin a service..Thoroughly disappointed with the app + changes to pricing model. On the seurface the app seems swanky, but is in fact lacking key functionalities. Every time I need to hire a cycle, i have to plan an extra 5 to 10 min to deal with the buggy app. 1. No Apple pay, really? 2. No way to store card details, really? So every time I need to manually enter card details. 3. Many problems with payment authentication - fails 2 out of 3 times - ridiculous for a £1.65 payment 4. Buggy gps read - often fails to read my location by a large margin.Version: 4.0.26
✓ Don’t UsePlease don’t use the app. For whatever reason the issues are not resolved and they end up overcharging the credit card. They then promise you a credit within a few days. Never happens. Please use cash if you can. Customer service completely unhelpful. Small amounts but nightmare from hell. Love the cycles but lousy support. Over charged 20 gbp so far.....Version: 4.0.11
✓ Not really suited for touristsThis app is very helpful for locating stations to collect or drop off bicycles. It tells you both the number of bikes available as well as spaces available to drop off. However, it is of limited use for actually reserving and paying for bikes, at least if your party has more than one person. The app will only allow one rental at a time, which means that all the time you put into setting up your payment method, etc. is really wasted if you have more than one in your group. On a positive note, the kiosks at the rental sites accept cards and allow you to select multiple bicycles at a time. So download the app for tracking and an easy way to locate bikes, but do your actual rental onsite!.Version: 4.0.4
✓ Unable to add my payment cardThe app is great for telling you where the bikes are and availability, but for someone using Apple Pay and who doesn’t regularly carry a bank card, it’s absolutely dire. A few months ago my partner and I both had issues adding our cards and it took multiple attempts and 15-20 minutes to set up. Today we tried to use them again and both of our cards had been reissued by the bank. We couldn’t add them and it actually said it was suspending my partner’s account. Needless to say neither of us were able to add our cards (although MasterCard debit wasn’t an option, maybe this was the reason??) we had to fall back to using the machine and a physical card. Luckily I had it with me, but what’s the point in the app/account if this is the case. I don’t understand why they don’t incorporate Apple Pay save adding these details in a longwinded manner. Also, why don’t the login details work in saved passwords on the iPhone? They’re certainly saved in but when you try to populate it in the app, in order to login automatically it doesn’t populate either fields and I had to copy the password, enter the email and then paste the password in (right after I reset my password not understanding why I couldn’t login/why it wasn’t pulling it through). Sort out the payment function and it would be an easy app to use!!! Also, what about a countdown timer for the app? How long you have left?.Version: 4.0.18
✓ CrashesApplication keeps crashing every time you try to register..Version: 3.98
✓ Full of bugsLots of problems with payment flow. UI very clunky..Version: 4.0.5
✓ The app no longer worksI used to use this app all the time before the pandemic and it was excellent. Since then, I haven’t been able to use it. It doesn’t recognise my account’s saved credit card so I’ve tried putting in my cc details in again and again. But it won’t allow me to pay. I’ve deleted the app, reinstalled it, logged out, logged back in - nothing works. I tried to report a problem but the link sent me to an error page. The hire bike scheme is great, but I’ve given up on the app and I now sign up manually..Version: 4.0.23
✓ Doesn’t get the basics rightRegistration doesn’t accept my very short email address although it is perfectly fine. Not sure what broken algorithm for email address validation is being used. This really is a solved problem. Basics of app development! Same with the registration form. When a field is activated the keyboard overlaps and scroll height isn’t adjusted. You can’t reach the signup button when a field is in focus. Again, UX basics! Happy to provide details and screenshots if a developer needs details for fixing..Version: 4.0.13
✓ Scam. Charged but never able to hire a bikeDon’t get this app.Version: 4.0.9
✓ Frozen AppJust downloaded this, signed up and started to peruse the map. Opened the menu and nothing happened. It froze, not responding to any interactions. Closed the app and reopened 3 times and same thing. Guess I won’t be using it..Version: 4.0.23
✓ Consistently inconsistentFor the most part, the app simply doesn’t work. Often the menu doesn’t load the options (frustratingly, this includes the help option) and instead reverts back to the map each time. The only way around this is to close and reopen the app. It will then work briefly before the same problem recurs and once again you have to close it. Worse still, the app remains adamant that my payment card has expired and won’t save the new details when I try to add it. The same card works fine on the machines at the docking stations (as well as in every other situation). After trying several times, I have now given up. The only reason I’m not giving it one star is because the map functionality does serve its intended purpose..Version: 4.0.20
✓ Poor Card CompatibiltyDoes not work with International cards. No point allowing the input of international addresses if international cards are not accepted. Far easier using bike share apps from other international cities with the exact same concept..Version: 4.0.9
✓ Won’t work for Canadian cardsAs others have said, the 3DS verification does not work for Canadian credit cards..Version: 4.0.28
✓ App is Fraud. Apple to remove from App StoreFraud. Take my word for it. Don’t waste your time..Version: 4.0.5
✓ Frustrating for no reasonThe app is quiet good but it let you down with showing you white screen at the time of using the app, or after loging in and subscribe for 1 year membership and then after still asking you to pay, for me it looks like the developers need to be change and the system as well whatever few checks they are doing or the computer that are using but seriously it crash a lot, so many people complain, some more improvement on that side please.Version: 4.0.31
✓ Journey planner is poorI like this app. Admittedly I use it in place of google maps and simply just to check docking station availability. It’s usually right but that seems to vary depending on where I am. The thing I really dislike about this app is the journey planner. It’s outrageously bad. You should just be able to enter a street name or postcode and have options as to which station you want to use. Unfortunately the developers seem to think users know the names and locations of the stations around London. My only other bug bear- not really an app issue is the lack of stations in South East London. Why TFL have you neglected a big chunk of London?.Version: 4.0.7
✓ Does not allow adding Canadian credit cardsThere is something up with very lame security checks for the card add. Errors all the time with RBC and Neo financial. TD seems to go though but I can’t 2factor approve with the 3DS because I don’t have that Canadian sim installed here. No Apple Pay. Very bad system..Version: 4.0.27
✓ Great bikes - app won’t accept card detailsJust started using the London bikes and really like them. 3 times now I’ve tried to use the app to pay and failed. It will not accept the card details for my main visa credit card - no error message or feedback, it either does the spinning wheel or returns to the card details input screen. The third time I successfully entered the card details on the the my account screen for a second credit card that I have. I did this at home the week before, when it came to use it a week later I pressed the hire button and the card details were not there. This is really poor, the whole point of the app should be to quickly pay for the hire. Please add Apple Pay.Version: 4.0.21
✓ What a shamePoor UI. Poor performance..Version: 4.0
✓ PalaverThe app is ok but I am completely unable to sign in. I get a red screen saying I have signed in successfully with a continue button. When I oress that button a pop up dialogue says login not successful and I am stuck. If i press forgot password it just takes me to the online account (where i am already logged in). I wanted to contact app support via the link on the app store and it just takes me to the santander cycles pages of tfl - not app support. What a pain! I have tried reinstalling but no dice. Help!.Version: 4.0.10
✓ Horribly confusing and out for your dataAbsolutely terrible. Confusing and just looking for your data. I gave up after 10 minutes of trying..Version: 4.0.27
✓ App doesn’t fit iPhoneX or later. Password managers brokenThe app doesn’t function properly on anything since the iPhone X, with the interface cut off at the top and bottom. Also lacks integration with password managers. You choose your password and it doesn’t fill the password or username fields. It’s 2020, this is basic functionality now..Version: 4.0.10
✓ Always crashingThis app literally crashes for me after an hour or so, and then will crash every time it opens from then. Have to delete and redownload in order to get it to work again. Not ideal when you are in a hurry.Version: 4.0
✓ Get a fobTwo key flaws 1. I have a yearly subscription. My credit card details had expired and so it wasn’t able to charge me for excess charges. The app kept telling me “subscription expired” which was wrong and confusing to me and the support team. It was the credit card that had expired, as we eventually worked out after various attempts to call the support team. 2. If docking stations are full then no way to extend the ride. I was in this situation and was charged extra. Customer services wouldn’t refund me as they said I didn’t call them at that moment in time. I was rushing late for a meeting and didn’t have time. I now just use the fob to get a bike as this allows me to extend the ride if a station is full. Citymapper does a good job telling me which stations have bikes so I tend to use it more than this app now..Version: 4.0.21
✓ Terrible connectivityNice functionality but virtually unusable — keeps crashing or complaining about the lack of Internet connection while there’s a strong signal and all other apps are working just fine.Version: 4.0.5
✓ You paid too much for nothingVery bad service, it is not available 24 hours. The system occasionally down and you can’t even hire a bike through this slow and heavy app..Version: 4.0.5
✓ Worst app everTrying to use this app for a few years, can count days when it was working as expected. First of all, adding payment details is paintful, as it requires full billing address match (the funny bit that one of updates made requirement for digit in adress first line, so if it is something like 'flat a' it will not allow to proceed, however I did not check if it was fixed already). Also why it does not support apple/google pay which will provide better user expirience? Second, I am constantly having issue with loging in. The app accept my password and then shows welcome screen, and when I click 'continue' it fails with "The login has failed - please try again." message. I had this problem in the past, then something was fixed, but now I have it again. In general (when it works) app is quite slow, simple bike renting process has redundant steps and not userfriendly at all. Unfortunatly alternatives are not great too - using card payment on station (also not the best user expirience) or bying a key, which you have to carry with you.Version: 4.0.33
✓ AwfulThe old Barclays Bikes App wasn't great but it was much more useful than this app (and I wish I still had it, if only to locate stations more effectively). This app needed a lot more planning and testing. Difficult to use in so many ways. Needs a substantial revision..Version: 3.95
✓ Can’t use it!This app doesn’t work with a US phone and credit card. Super disappointing..Version: 4.0.28
✓ Wont accept usa addressEnough said. Get nasty sdk error flashing and immediately after some other strange message ab field formats Between this an RingGo not accepting usa phone number, doesn’t uk want our tourist dollars?.Version: 4.0.21
✓ Poor CXDoes not allow the use of Apple ID sign up, requires an SMS auth code but bills before stating this fact. Impossible to use without a SIM / phone number. Lastly, laggy UX and large app size given the functionality….Version: 4.0.27
✓ Used to work fineBut for the last several weeks I have been unable to login. I enter my credentials and move to the “login successful” screen, but when I tap continue I just get an error “parameter: type must be defined”. What’s worse is there is no way to navigate back away from this screen without quitting the app. Why is the unnecessary step of needing to tap continue in a blank screen after logging in even included in the UX? Why introduce this extra step in an app designed to remove friction in the cycle hire experience? No app update in the last 6 MONTHS either, so I’ve no hope of this bug being fixed quickly..Version: 4.0.13
✓ Bugs, bugs - can’t even login due to bugsHave set up an account and fallen at first hurdle as there is a “parameter “type” must be provided” error/bug that won’t let me log in. I’m saying this a bug because looking at other reviews I can see I’m not the first so it’s great to see that over the past year no-one working on app has deemed it worthwhile addressing this issue. Depressingly this is about the third or fourth time I’ve said to myself I should use these bikes to get around but met with some obstacle that had just tipped it into the “too hard basket”….it really shouldn’t be hard at all?!?!! Maybe it’s me…..Version: 4.0.23
✓ App is clunkyI downloaded the app, successfully imputed my cc details, which was a challenge in itself because my home address is Canada, and tried unsuccessfully to use the app to book a bike. paying with cc directly at the station seems to work fine..Version: 4.0.26
✓ Looks like I was conned tooYep, I thought if I used a London address I'd be able to hire but I got the"card not accepted" at the end too. Haven't checked my about yet..Version: 4.0.9
✓ Horrible buggy appIt refuses to allow me to save any of my payment cards and hire a bicycle via the app. There is no obvious way to manage cards outside of the hire journey. It’s extremely frustrating to repeatedly stand on the street, keep the phone and payment card out in the open, copy the card details, only to be told that for some random error or other the card could not be added. To make matters worse, this used to work just fine until one day the app just “forgot” my saved card and stranded me at the bike hire station as I did not have a physical card with me. The self service machines won’t accept phone contactless payments either!.Version: 4.0.21
✓ Buggy app which takes multiple paymentsThis app has to be the most appalling I have ever come across . It’s clumsy, fails too render screens making form input guesswork or in some cases near impossible. Mostly features are confusing and undocumented or structured . The features that actually work give totally inaccurate information. No help in sight and the final straw is it happily takes money out of your account whilst not providing functionality. And incorrectly reporting status as pending when it has already got payment Auth . Will happily do that over and over , be warned ! Quite how this passes apple quality control is beyond me . It degrades not only Santander brand but apples too . Avoid!.Version: 4.0.10
✓ Worst app especially if you’re a touristMy friends and I were visiting London and wanted to go biking.. yeah that didn’t happen. Firstly we couldn’t use the multi take out function and for some reason it only let us put one credit card per “code” and wouldn’t accept the same card even though it can easily pay for more?! so we basically dredged up all our cards and mind you we don’t carry that many cards and it charged us all a $1.5 fee but none of us were able to take out our bikes. We also never got that refunded despite giving up and not using any of the bikes. also my friend on the android app basically never got to the bike unlock page but it still took her money. absolutely do not trust this app if you need it in a pinch and have not used it before or give yourself an hour because we walked to 3 different stations to get an “available” bike and it just didn’t happen. Very unreliable. might as well just rent a bike in person..Version: 4.0.32
✓ Horrible experienceAll my cards are systematically declined when trying to get an annual subscription. There’s no way to contact customer service..Version: 4.0.18
✓ Most frustrating experience everIt was a nice day and I thought ‘hey, why don’t I ride a bike home’ you’d think it would be easy but the machines didn’t work, the app didn’t work and absolutely no one was willing to help me and just rode off with the bike I was trying to get for the past 10minutes. All up I spent 45 minutes trying to acquire a bike to ride, was charged for nothing & had to get the tube home because the third place I went to had no bikes by the time I got there. What a waste of a beautiful afternoon, after working a 9 hour day- it left me feeling frustrated and actually upset. So thank you for ruining my day! If I could rate this app lower I honestly would..Version: 4.0.9
✓ Steals your moneySCAM! Registration always fails with an error, and it charges you £2 each time.Version: 4.0.9
✓ Impossible to useArrived at a cycle stop to hire a bike but the kiosk wouldn’t accept Apple Pay (even though it accepts contactless payments?!) - didn’t have my card, so downloaded the app instead. Registered and was charged £2, but when I tried to hire a bike I wasn’t able to, as it said my account needed renewing. Since I hadn’t enabled auto pay, I enabled it thinking that might be the problem. I was charged another £2 but my account still showed as pending, and I got the same error message which prevented me from hiring a bike. Now 12 hours later, I have been charged twice without being able to hire a bike and my account is still pending. No easy way of resolving..Version: 4.0.11
✓ Terrible app and support!What a terrible app! Shame on Santander for putting their name behind it. Too many bugs, really bad user experience, not a way to provide feedback or report problems other than calling them, station docks may not be working and the app won't show that. Terrible support. The bikes are very handy but it's a complete waste of time through this app. In the mornings when you need it the most to go to work it might just completely crash or say “it can’t connect” which is literally almost every morning. I think I was considering getting a year membership but until this is fixed, no way!.Version: 4.0.5
✓ Always crashesSo many times it will not load or need to connect to WiFi it says..... ughhhh.Version: 4.0.5
✓ Pretty good. updated 25 Oct- uselessUpdate: for past 10 days since 15 oct it hasn’t worked at all. Keep being told I need to pay when I already have a recently renewed annual subscription. Even if I try to purchase again or just 1 day access the app immediately logs me out after entering payment info which, by the way, takes ages as nothing is ever saved :( it was good, it’s now useless and they owe me the best part of £120 for the year Previous review: Mostly works as you want. Is slow to or just doesn’t update location. Doesn’t know if the bikes are out of order so it may say there are 2 or 3 bikes in a dock but they could all be out of order. ‘Achievements’ section doesn’t work at all.Version: 4.0.31
✓ Frustrating for US visitorsWasted 20 minutes trying to get this set up only to find after calling support the app won’t text us based numbers to verify your account - very very lame.Version: 4.0.28
✓ Won’t accept paymentsSince the app update I can no longer ride. I have been using the App for a few years, with a debit card saved in my account. Now anytime I attempt to ride it asks me for payment details and then throws up an error, “Error accessing your signup information. Please log out and then log in and try again.” This instruction doesn’t work, neither does deleting the app or reinstalling. May seem harsh for a 1 star review. But, I have been trying for the past 6 months to signup in app for a 1 year subscription… anytime I did it bills me £2 and gives me 24hours. Come on guys! You shouldn’t get payments wrong. Now forced to use Lime. 🤦🏻♂️ Battery powered bikes, there goes that little bit of extra exercise..Version: 4.0.20
✓ Steaming pile of garbage from end to endApp doesn’t work. Bikes are total heaps of crap, are about as mobile as the exercise bikes at my gym except they are less comfortable and dirtier. Once you hire one the best course of action is to immediately redock it as you will not have anywhere close to your destination to do so as no one hires these pieces of junk anymore so all the docks near anywhere you’d want to be are full - half an hour cycling around on this filthy piece of borderline scrap metal before I found one where the space the app said would be there was actually there. Use lime, human forest, or one of the other ones; this one is worse then useless - it’s like being stricken with an infectious disease..Version: 4.0.21
✓ Good information, poor performanceThe app contains all the information you’ll need, but it’s like someone’s aiming to make the user experience just that little bit worse at every turn. Connection failures are pretty common, adding payment cards is a hassle, the whole app is super sluggish, even on the latest devices, and if everything does work, there’s a 1 in 5 chance the app will crash right before you’re done and you’ll have to start from the beginning..Version: 4.0.28
✓ Signup not workingSignup not working for an address outside the UK. You can just go to the bike locations and use a credit card to rent if it’s a short term rental. No need for the app. Why can’t this app use Apple Pay and Apple login to remove most of their signup steps?.Version: 4.0.9
✓ Can’t use American zip code for credit cardThe app forces you to use a “look up” button to search for your billing address zip code. The app does not recognize US zip codes. I don’t really want to change my credit card zip codes to my temporary London address, but that’s the only way to use these bikes..Version: 4.0.23
✓ Crashes all the timeJust downloaded this app and it has crashed twice in less than 5 minutes. Good thing I kept the old Barclays cycle hire app. This app is unusable..Version: 3.98
✓ Waste of timeGot a bunch of codes that I was charged for and none worked! Ended up getting codes from the Kiosk and some didn’t work as well... we needed 4 bikes and it was such a hassle... at the end you don’t really know what was charged and how much you paid extra!.Version: 4.0.16
✓ Slow systemsToday there are 3 bikes Eastbourne Mews, Paddington . he didn't let me take any bikes as you have a slow system. on the application it told me that there were no bikes available at this station. I waited ten minutes but the application said no bikes available. this is not the first time this has happened. I have to go to work every day and need to use your service at this point it makes no sense, you just waste my time. the bikes are good but please improve the application it just wastes me time..Version: 4.0.19
✓ From australia?On final registration step, app declared that my card had not been authorised. I double checked details and attempted twice more but no successful registration. However on checking my account, I was charged GBP2 on each occasion. So, I’ve been charged six pounds and have been unable to register..Version: 4.0.9
✓ Cannot register - app hangs at Enter AddressMaybe this app is great, maybe not. I’ll never know. Repeated attempts to register have all failed at the “Enter your address” part. It hangs on an endlessly spinning wheel..Version: 4.0.9
✓ IllogicalThe app flips out if you don't enter a mobile phone number. While it accepts it when registering you can't then do anything with your account. How many non-UK visitors would carry a mobile phone with them?! Not me! Also, it doesn't appear in app searches for bicycle. Surely "cycles" implies motorbikes as well. Finally, your sub starts when you register, even if the wifi you use is miles from the nearest station. Why not make it start with the first rental? Overall: poorly thought through..Version: 4.0.1
✓ Read the terms carefullyThought I could hire the bike for £2 over a 24 hour period, ending up paying £20 after I realized you need to dock the bike afterward 30 min of use. Clever marketing ploy..Version: 4.0.4
✓ Nearly there, but not quiteThe ‘plan my journey’ section is incredibly clunky. You can’t use the map to choose your start and end points despite obviously needing to pick up and deposit the bikes at the stations. You need to first figure out the name of the station, then search it, which invariably doesn’t work and comes up with random spots. If you can manage to get the right destination it is then a great function where you can choose the level of traffic you would like to ride through and get the map. But v tricky to get to that stage often. Hire option through the app is great..Version: 4.0.4
✓ Only if you have a British mobile!Visiting from Australia I thought this would be great for getting around London- turns out the app only works if you have a British mobile AND a British address. In the process of trying to register my credit card was debited 4 times without once successfully setting up an account. Don't waste your time or money on the app, just use a credit card where you pick up a bike..Version: 4.0.2
✓ Constant CrashCrashes every time I try to put payment info in..Version: 3.98
✓ Does not workWill reject attempts to create accounts for Canadians in London. Probably not intentionally. Still no restrictions were provided..Version: 4.0.9
✓ The app does not workFor the last few days, when I open the app, it just gives three links, the first two to general info on tfl websites about Cycle hire - Terms & conditions, How it works, and the last option Call our Centre, which I tried only to finally reach an exhausted- & apologetic-sounding staff who couldn’t help at all. I’ve been struggling with the app for the last year, trying to tolerate its glitches without writing a negative review and keeping using Santanders Cycle Hire service, trying to rationalise that I need to hire their bikes because of the inconvenience of keeping a bike of my own. Descriptions of the problems with the app when it still worked would have been a few pages more. But now it has stopped working totally, what’s the point. Actually, what’s the point of using it at all! I’m struggling to keep the hope that Santanders will resolve their app problem..Version: 4.0.13
✓ Love the service, hate the appI’m an annual subscriber to the cycle scheme and have been for years. Very few complaints about the scheme itself. However, the app is often less than useless to me. The UI feels clunky and buggy, and the map almost never reflects the true number of bikes at each station. It almost never saves time to check availability using the app before leaving the house/office; I have more success picking the nearest station and rolling the dice. I can’t comment on many other aspects of the app, because even signing in is an unreliable, painful process..Version: 4.0.5
✓ Utterly unreliable and misleading map of available bikes!This app pretends to show live-time bike availability. IT NEVER DOES and is NOT RELIABLE! The number of bikes on the app never matches those available in docks. For example it might show a whole rack being available but when you get there no bikes are available. It leads to countless wasted journeys and frustrated efforts to “do the right thing” by cycling but doesn’t deliver on the ground. Santander should be sued for failing to provide adequate support. In addition too many docks are broken and this doesn’t register on the app either. A waste of time and a drastic loss of functionality compared to Barclays scheme and app..Version: 4.0.4
🙂 Santander Cycles Positive Reviews
Santander Cycles works most of the time. If it is not working for you, we recommend you excersise some patience and retry later or contact Santander Cycles.
⛔ Santander Cycles Problems
