Santander Cycles to get self-charging e-bikes and new smartphone app

TfL’s cycle hire scheme is set to upgrade its e-bikes next year so they can be recharged when docked, rather than swapping batteries as currently happens.There are currently 2000 e-bikes in the Santander Cycle fleet, leading to a significant increase in longer hires.
At the moment, staff visiting the docking stations swap out the batteries when they are low on power, but this risks bikes being unavailable if they are not checked regularly.
With the docking station recharge, that problem sh