Enterprise Rent-A-Car, the world’s largest car rental company, and Brompton Bike Hire have joined forces to make the famous folding bikes available from Enterprise’s Russell Square branch in central London.
This is the first time the bikes have been available other than from Brompton’s docking stations, and the pilot project demonstrates the commitment from both businesses to create integrated and active transport options for people who are on the move.
The service has gone live initially with four bikes. Users will book the bikes via the Brompton online service and collect them from the Enterprise branch.
"This is an exciting initiative which sits firmly with Enterprise’s commitment to support active travel and greater integration of types of transport," Enterprise Vice President of Mobility Ben Lawson said. "We know that people want to see public and shared transport, such as car and bike hire, come much closer together and be easier to access. We hope to be able to extend the service we have at Russell Square to other Enterprise branches.
"We are already involved in a number of other ground-breaking transport projects around the UK. In the Highlands and Islands of Scotland we are part of the Go-Hi integrated transport initiative, where people use a single app to plan and pay for journeys using a range of transport services including train, bus, car hire and ferries. In Coventry we are supporting a mobility credits project which enables people to scrap older, more polluting cars in return for credits which can be used to pay for public and shared transport."
"Enterprise and Brompton share a vision of encouraging people to use the most appropriate mode of travel for the journey they are taking," Brompton Bike Hire Managing Director Julian Scriven said. "More than 90% of Brompton hires are already combined with other modes of transport, so it simply makes sense to work with Enterprise to create multi-modal hubs across the UK together. This pilot is hopefully the next step in developing this idea which has already proven so successful in other collaborative projects together."
The Enterprise branch is at 49 Woburn Place, Russell Square, London, W1CH 0JZ, and bikes are available during opening hours which are 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday to Friday and 9 a.m.-Noon on Saturdays.
