Hire bikes are one of the urban transport success stories of recent years. In London they’re as ubiquitous as black cabs, and they’re springing up in more and more towns and cities. It’s not just tourists clunking them into docking stations outside museums. People who live or work locally use them for everyday A-to-B journeys because they’re convenient and cheap.

For occasional use you can pay a per-hire fee, tapping with your phone and cycling off.  If you want to use hire bikes more often – for commuting, for example – you can save money by taking out a subscription. Santander Cycles, Beryl, Forest and Brompton all offer this as an option, and it’s the only way to get a bike through Swapfiets.

If you take out a 6- or 12-month subscription, you can save up to 42% on it with Cyclescheme bike rental. Cycle to Work legislation ‘also covers the provision of a vouch for hiring bicycles and equipment’. The voucher in this case is the bike hire subscription.

How it works

Cyclescheme bike rental works through salary sacrifice, like when you go to a bike shop to get a bike and equipment. Let’s say you’d like a 12-month subscription to Forest, which has an RRP of £840. It’s pretty much the same as getting a bike for £840 from your local Cyclescheme retailer.

Either way, you pay that £840 in 12 monthly instalments, which are deducted from your gross salary by your employer. That means you don’t pay income tax or national insurance on the cost of the subscription/bike. This is where the savings come from and it’s why higher-rate taxpayers, who pay 40% income tax and 2% national insurance (a total of 42%) save more than lower-rate taxpayers, who pay 20% income tax and 8% national insurance (28%).

There is a difference between a standard Cyclescheme package and Cyclescheme bike rental (which is why they’re only ‘pretty much’ the same). With a standard Cyclescheme package, there’s an final ownership fee of 3% or 7% to pay, depending on the value of the bike. With Cyclescheme bike rental you don’t pay this because you don’t end up with a bike. You only have the use of a bike during the salary sacrifice period.

You don’t have to choose between a standard Cyclescheme package and Cyclescheme bike rental. You can have both. The only exceptions are if: your employer doesn’t have bike rental enabled; or your employer doesn’t allow you to have two Cycle to Work salary sacrifices at the same time.

The easiest way to check if your employer does offer Cyclescheme bike rental is to start the application process. This is even easier than applying for a standard Cyclescheme package because you’re not choosing from ‘any bike, anywhere’, but rather: from among these operators in those locations.

First of all choose a plan on the Cyclescheme bike rental website to see what each operator offers. Then click the ‘Apply now’ button. In the pop-up window, click ‘I’m an Employee’ and enter your employer’s name (or Cyclescheme code), then click Start. Click ‘Bike Rental 6 Month Scheme’ or ‘Bike Rental 12 Month Scheme’ to see what options are available. Don’t forget to check that the scheme you select operates in the area where you’ll want to use it.

Once your employer has reviewed and approved your application, you’ll be sent a code from Cyclescheme. This will have instructions on how to start your subscription.

Who it’s for

Cyclescheme bike rental is for anyone paid by PAYE who wants to cycle to work but doesn’t want to own their commuter bike. Why wouldn’t you want to? Rental can be cheaper, starting at just £1.34 per week. You don’t have to worry about parking your bike at home, or maintaining or replacing it.

It’s for anyone who wants access to a different bike. If your main bike is a mountain bike or a road bike, a Santander hire bike is an excellent, utilitarian alternative. Or maybe you want access to an e-bike or a folder?

It’s also for anyone who makes multimodal journeys to towns or cities that have subscription hire bikes available. You can then ride your own bike to the train station and lock it up there, then pick up a hire bike at your destination. Simple.

Where it is

Cyclescheme bike rental covers the following locations at the time of writing. As operators expand into more areas, this will eventually widen.

• Beryl: Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole, Watford, Norwich, Hereford, Portsmouth, Southampton, Brighton & Hove, Cornwall, Dorchester, Weymouth, Portland, Dorset, Eastleigh, Manchester, Guildford, Hackney, Leeds, Plymouth, Stevenage, Studland, West Midlands, Westminster & Worcester.

• Brompton: nationwide.

• Forest: London.

• TfL Santander Cycles: London.

• Swapfiets: London

What it costs and what you get

• Beryl
RRP: £200 for 12 months.

You pay: £144 (lower rate taxpayer) or £166 (higher rate).

Weekly cost: £2.77 or £2.23

Using the Beryl app, you can hire a Beryl pedal bike (not e-bike) from over 600 Beryl bays. Rides of up to 30 minutes are free, however many you make each day. After 30 minutes you’ll be charged 5p per minute, which is Beryl’s standard pay-as-you-ride rate.

• Brompton

RRP: £420 for 12 months’ use of a Brompton C Line; £900 for a C Line Electric.

You pay: £302.40 (lower rate taxpayer) or £243.60 (higher rate) for a C Line; £648 or £522 for a C Line Electric.

Weekly cost: £5.82 or £4.68 for a C Line; £12.46 or £10.04 for a C Line Electric.

You get a Brompton delivered to your doorstep to use for the whole year. Insurance and an annual service are included.

• Forest

RRP: £840 for 12 months.

You pay: £604.80 (lower rate taxpayer) or £487.20 (higher rate).

Weekly cost: £11.63 or £9.37.

Using the Forest app, you’ll have access to 20,000 Forest e-bikes in London. You get 30 hours of riding each month (1,800 minutes), and don’t need to pay unlocking and daily service fees. The e-bikes are dockless but should be parked responsibly.

• Swapfiets

RRP: £389 for a singlespeed e-bike for six months or £479 for a 7-speed e-bike for six months.

You pay: £280.08 (lower rate taxpayer) or £225.62 (higher rate) for a singlespeed e-bike; or £344.88 or £277.82 for a 7-speed e-bike.

Weekly cost: £10.77 or £8.68 for a singlespeed; or £13.62 or £10.69 for a 7-speed.

You get a Swapfiets e-bike to keep for six months, along with a battery, charger and a double lock. The bike has always-on LED lights and an optional basket. If it’s stolen, you’re covered. And your e-bike will be fixed at Swapfiets’ store or at the roadside if it needs to be serviced or repaired.

• TfL Santander Cycles

RRP: £120 for 12 months.

You pay: £86.40 (lower rate taxpayer) or £69.60 (higher rate).

Weekly cost: £1.66 or £1.34.

Using the app or your membership key, you can freely hire a Santander bike (not e-bike) from over 750 docking stations around London. The first 60 minutes of every ride cost you nothing. After the first 60 minutes, you pay £1.65 for every additional 60 minutes of use in the same journey.