Santander Cycles 4+

Not up to scratch

You’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.

Unable to add my payment card

The 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?

Great app and excellent customer service

Have been using the app and bikes for about 18 months. The bikes are a great facility to have in London, basically turn up and go, no stress about carrying padlocks or dealing with punctures and maintenance. The bikes are a bit heavy but very robust. The app is good — could be slightly better with notifications, journey tracking, etc, but considering the number of bikes and the diverse locations, it is VG. The app recently went awry after I upgraded to ios 14.8 but after reporting it to the customer service team, I got a quick email response recommending a reinstall, which fixed things, plus a friendly follow-up call a few days later. Couldn’t fault the team behind everything. Thank you :-)

Developer Response ,

Hi there! Thanks soooo much for your positive vibes and kind words about our app! I'm so pleased to hear your getting on much better with the app after you called our team! I agree cycling is the way to go! Enjoy! Sadia