LONDON, Aug. 1 (AFP) – London launched a major cycle hire scheme Friday which aims to make transport in the city greener ahead of the 2012 Olympics, following in the tracks of cities like Paris and Shanghai.

Mayor Boris Johnson, himself a keen cyclist, said the scheme was a ''new dawn'' for pedal power in London, adding he hoped the bikes will become as common a sight on its streets as black cabs and red double-decker buses.

A total of 5,000 bicycles are currently available from 315 docking stations across the capital, many of them near landmarks such as Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament and the Tower of London.
Initial response from users was encouraging, although there have been some early hitches in getting the scheme up and running.

After a brief struggle to release one of the sturdy bikes from a docking station in central London's Soho district, Gary McDonagh, 39, who works for a television company, gave it the thumbs up after a brief test ride.

''It feels a bit like riding a people carrier, but it's deceptively fast for its weight,'' he told AFP. ''It's good that they're robust, with London's weather and the potholes in the roads. It's pretty nifty.''

Johnson, who often cycles to work at City Hall, was full of enthusiasm as he launched the scheme.
''Londoners have awoken to a new dawn for the bicycle in the capital,'' he said.

''Overnight, racks have been filled with thousands of gleaming machines that will transform the look and feel of our streets and become as commonplace on our roads as black cabs and red buses.