A TRAIN carriage turned cycle hire based in Stratford has bagged the Bike Hire Company of The Year title.
Stratford Bike Hire, which runs from a refurbished Royal Mail train carriage on the Stratford Greenway, works alongside tour companies in and around Warwickshire to offer cycling experiences.
Prestige Awards – which recognises work achieved by smaller and independent businesses – was impressed by the ‘friendly’ service the cycle hire company offered its customers.
The cycle hire was founded by Wayne Vickers in 2007 as a delivery service, with the carriage later installed in 2009 alongside a cafe, on the five mile cycle path.
The company provides hand-built bikes by Stratford company Pashley Cycles and also works with Cyclists Fighting Cancer – which creates bikes and trikes to suit all abilities – to help promote inclusive cycling. It also recently partnered with Warwickshire Ebikes to develop electric bike hire for the Greenway for this year.
Wayne told the Observer: “I was delighted to hear that we had been voted as Cycle Hire of the Year. It was particularly pleasing to be recognised for the efforts we have been making to develop the business during what has been, as for everyone, a difficult year.
“One of the positive outcomes of the past 12 months is that people are seeing the importance of cycling for travelling to work, getting around or simply getting exercise outdoor and having fun as a family. Added to that cycling is a great environmentally friendly way to get around. We are very lucky to have a facility like the Greenway on our doorstep.”
