Transport for London (TFL) has issued a public tender for a designer and supplier to create the next generation of ‘Boris Bikes’ and inspire more Londoners to get active.

Although the contract to supply bikes for London’s public cycle network doesn’t expire until 2017, TFL is already on the hunt for a new party to take on the job of designing, building, testing and supplying the next generation of bikes until 2027.

Referred to by Londoners as ‘Boris Bikes’ after the city’s cycling mayor Boris Johnson, the current model is based on the Bixi bike, originally created by industrial designer Michel Dallaire. The winner of the tender will also be responsible for managing and maintaining this existing fleet of 10,000 bicycles.

Cycling – especially around the capital – is seen as integral to boosting physical activity levels with £100m being spent on new schemes to boost biking participation in outer London boroughs.

The importance of design in fostering active populations has received renewed focus in recent months, after new research reinforced the long-held view that cities which strive to promote physical activity gain a significant economic advantage.

Meanwhile, Richard Rogers – the architect behind the Lloyd’s of London building and the Millennium Dome – is currently overseeing a parliamentary inquiry into how design in planning can affect behaviour change. The cross-party investigation aims to explore how the increased use of design in planning of the built environment could lead to positive behaviour change in local communities.

Northampton to launch urban cycle-hire scheme