A bike company is helping Londoners avoid commuter chaos by offering them a free bike on the tube strike days.

During the upcoming Tube and Overground strike taking place between 18 to 20 August, Swapfiets will be giving commuters a free bike to use for seven days.

Londoners can get their hands on a bike from Swapfiets Spitalfields store from 17 August.

The Dutch bike subscription service offers a range of bikes starting from just £16.90 a month, and include on demand maintenance and repairs, an AXA chain lock, replacements if stoken, as well as access to top of the range bikes and e-bikes.

Katarina Hlavata, UK Country Manager at Swapfiets, said: “We know that for Londoners who rely on public transport for their daily commute to work, there’s nothing more frustrating than a Tube strike – which is why we want to provide 100 Swapfiets bikes on a first come first served basis to try and make life that little bit easier!”

She continued: “We hope that by encouraging people to change their mode of transport for the strike, many Londoners will consider and appreciate the multiple health and environmental benefits of cycling as a longer-term alternative for their daily commute.”

The RMT union working for the London Underground says industrial action has been prompted by “TfL’s refusal to share the details of a draft government proposal they received regarding funding of the transport system in the capital, in secret and without any discussion with their recognised trade unions”.

Cycling to work can lead to a 45 per cent lower risk of developing cancer, and a 46 per cent of cardiovascular disease. Switching to cycling for one for one journey per day reduces a person’s carbon footprint by approximately 0.5 tonnes obver a year.

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