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The rise of Blaze continues with a trial with Transport for London – the brand’s laser lights are currently being tested out on 250 of London’s Santander Cycles aka Boris Bikes with a view to potentially rolling them in the rest of the fleet.
This is the first time the Blaze laser light has been built directly into the frame of the bike, ensuring it is always directed at the ideal spot on the road.
The trial is being funded as part of the annual budget for the scheme. Should the trial prove successful, the lights may be introduced more widely across the scheme, with additional funding from Santander.
James Mead, General Manager of Santander Cycles, said: "As part of our wider work to make London’s roads safer for cyclists, we have worked closely with Serco and Santander to undertake a small trial of Blaze Lazerlights, which alert drivers to an approaching cyclist in the blind spot at night time.
"Although the technology has been available for several years, this is the first time that it has been built directly into the frame of a hire bike. We will be robustly testing both the technology, its effectiveness and peoples’ opinions of it during the trial and hope to make a further update later this year."
Phil Ellis, COO and co-founder of Blaze, said: “Cycling is growing in London with over half a million journeys made by bike every day. However personal safety is still the biggest barrier to participation. We designed the Blaze Laserlight to actively reduce collisions and near misses by giving cyclists a larger footprint on the road, and helping them be seen in situations where they are otherwise invisible, through the innovative laser.
“As a company we are dedicated to continuing to drive forward the improvement of road safety for cyclists through innovative design and technology, with the Laserlight product being the first of many things to come. This trial with Santander Cycles and TfL is a big step in the evolution of cycling safety in London and an important step for Blaze.”
Keith Moor, chief marketing officer for Santander, also commented: “Santander’s vision when signing up to sponsor the London Cycle Hire scheme was to make the experience of hiring a cycle, fun, rewarding and easy. We know that safety remains one of the barriers to some people trying the scheme and enjoying the benefits it offers both the individual and the wider community. Blaze is a London based startup and we believe the use of its revolutionary Laserlight on Santander Cycles will help people riding to feel safer. As a bank that supports businesses to achieve their breakthrough moments we are also delighted that our support for the pilot and funding for the potential rollout scheme-wide could be significant in supporting the growth of a small British business with big ambitions.
“Innovations in the scheme are something Santander and TfL are both committed to. We want to make it easier for more people to choose Santander Cycles to get around this great city.”
www.blaze.cc
