In message
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David Walters writes

Is there any information about how the scheme is paid for?

Figures quoted by the BBC earlier this year showed an outlay of £140m
for the first six years (for set-up and running). Barclays have stumped
up £25m of this, so presumably TfL are having to fund the scheme at the
rate of just over £19m per annum. However, offset against this is the
income from hire charges, so it's not impossible that the scheme could
be self-financing. Certainly, and as Mizter T indicated, it is unlikely
to be a major drain on resources.

Is there a certain utilisation rate at which it pays for itself or will
it always be tax payer subsidised?

I don't know if calculations have been made - there are a lot of
imponderables, such as the rate of uptake (which has generally been
higher than expected in other cities with such schemes) and the rate of
theft (which has also been much higher than expected in the Paris Vélib
scheme).

If the later I can't see any expansion happening for a long time, with
the possible exception of Canary Wharf around the Barclays HQ.

To become as popular as the Paris scheme, I think the London scheme
would need to extend into Zone 2 at some stage, but that could indeed be
a long way off in the current financial climate.

--
Paul Terry