Thrifty car hire near Tower Bridge in London has come up with a novel way in which employees can complete their journeys once they have collected or dropped off a rental vehicle with a customer. Instead of getting behind the wheel of another car, employees have found it more convenient to jump in a hire bike.

Opposite the Thrifty branch is a docking station for bikes rented out under the Barclays Cycle Hire scheme. Run by Transport for London, and otherwise known as Boris Bikes, customers are able to collect a bicycle from numerous points around the capital, use it to complete their journey and then drop that bike off at another conveniently located terminal.

Cyclists are only required to pay for the time they are actually using the bike. Thrifty is already seeing the benefits of employees choosing two wheels over four. There is now less to pay in congestion charges and at a time when the price of petrol and diesel is particularly high, the firm is making savings on fuel.

Taking advantage of the initiative is also a benefit to the environment. According to Thrifty’s Tower Bridge location manager, Francis Limbambala, none of the team has been forced to use the bikes. However, after deciding to test them out everyone agreed that they were far greener, far more efficient, and far quicker than utilising another petrol driven vehicle. The Thrifty team has also apparently found it a good way to get fitter.

The firm has invested in helmets, visibility vests and trouser-clips for the safety of its employees.