Boris Johnson today announced details of his proposed bike hire scheme for London.

The plan is to provide 6,000 bikes at 400 stands around the city. It’s likely to be modeled quite closely on the successful Velib cycle hire scheme in Paris and others that have been set up around the world.

Boris said he wants to “make the capital a city of cyclists, where to use two wheels is common not curious”.

Good luck, Boris! We’re all for bike hire in London.
photo credit: Malinki

A long-running bulls-for-hire scheme in the Scottish Highlands and Islands is coming to an end.

The service, managed by the Crofters Commission, has been supplying bulls to crofters in the area but, facing declining usage, it is soon to be wound up.

400 out of 13,000 crofters are currently using the animals, according to Environment Minister Mike Russell. The alternative will be for crofters to keep bulls themselves, but this will mean keeping them indoors over winter and paying for their increasingly expensive feed.

photo credit: pamzpix

photo credit: John-Morgan

What’s the best way to make ends meet now that the credit crunch is starting to bite? One simple thing you can do is to put off purchases for the time being and hire whatever it is instead. For example, rather than buying yourself that pair of rollerblades you’ve always fancied having a go with, why not just hire some for now and see how you get on? You’ll save money now and may find that you don’t really need to buy any after all. Apply the same approach to other potential purchases, from clothes to cars, and before you know it, your finances will be right back on track. Take that, credit crunch!

photo credit: dichohecho

Hiring a coach or bus for your next event can work out as a cost effective way to transport your passengers. Not only will it save you time and money, it can also have less of an impact on the environment. For example a journey to Paris by coach will produce 10.6 kilos of carbon per passenger journey, compared to 52 kilos by air. A trip to Vienna consumes just 22 kilos by coach compared to 190.9 kilos when flying.

The first thing you need to consider when hiring a coach is what date you will be departing and returning, and at what times. This helps the coach hire company give you a complete quote taking into consideration driver’s hours and what breaks he or she will need to take.

The number of passengers you have has a significant effect on the price of coach hire. There is no point having a 49 seater coach when you only have 20 people (unless you have a very large amount of luggage). Full size coaches are designed with large luggage space, so it’s good to have an idea of how much luggage you will be bringing.

Now you have all the information, it’s time to go and get the quotes. The internet is the best way to find companies in your local area, the closer the operator is to your pick up point the cheaper it will be as the operator does not have waste fuel and time getting the pick up point. So head to your favourite search engine and search for “coach hire London” or whatever you local pick up point is and choose a company which meets your needs.

There are nationwide booking agents in the coach industry who offer a managed service for sourcing your coaches. These companies can offer excellent discounts due to their knowledge, experience and buying power in the market place. Generally they will offer you a number of quotes which are tailored to your requirements and let you choose which is best for you. These companies will then book the coach on your behalf and deal with all the payment and booking process which takes a lot of headaches out of coach hire, especially for those who are not familiar with the process of procuring a coach for hire.

Here are a few points to remember:

1. Always make sure you get a booking confirmation
2. Always read the terms and conditions
3. Always double check the information given to you form the operator
4. Make sure you have the driver’s mobile phone number before the date of travel

Author: Greg Dickson of EasyCoachHire.co.uk, providers of a fully-managed coach hire service.

photo credit: didbygraham

Just Coach Hire is a coach hire booking agent that can help you get exactly the right coach, at the right place, at the right time.

They cater for weddings and corporate events and have access to thousands of coaches throughout the UK, so can help with everything from coach hire in London to minibus hire in Birmingham. One to try if you’re organising an event and need to sort out transport.

photo credit: Seb Payne

Have you just passed your driving test? A lot of car hire companies ask for a minimum of 1 year’s qualified driving experience before they’ll let you hire a car from them. The issue is, of course, insurance.

The word on the street, though (or should I say the Web?), is that some companies will accept older drivers who have just passed their tests. Ring around… you may be in luck. And if you find a company that will hire you a car, come back here and let us know!

photo credit: paper or plastic?

So maybe you’ve had a big party and your kind guests have made a mess. Or maybe that lovable pet of yours has had a little accident.

Whatever the reason, you have dirty carpets! Oh dear, stained carpets are not good. You want your lovely, clean carpets back but don’t want to fork out to hire a cleaning company. What do you do?

The answer: hire a carpet cleaning machine! These wonderful devices are straightforward to use and work wonders.

Prices to hire a carpet shampooing machine are around £20 for 24 hours.

To find out more, and get a few carpet cleaning tips, take a look at Rug Doctor

photo credit: Titanas

Are you under 21 and looking to hire a car in the UK? If so, I’m afraid you’re going to be out of luck. You could be 20 years old and have had your driving license for a couple of years already, but to a hire car company you’re still going to be considered a high risk. We’ve scoured the internet, but we could not find any companies prepared to hire their cars to a driver under 21 years old. If you somehow manage to find one, please let us know!

photo credit: didbygraham

Are you looking to hire a van for just a few hours? Most companies will only hire vans out for a minimum of a day. Here are two, though, that offer hourly van rental:

1. Streetcar - offer hourly rental of VW vans, currently £8.95 per hour.
2. Europcar - currently provide a special offer of hourly van hire from a minimum of £14.12.

If you are looking for per hour van hire, you might also want to consider hiring a man with a van. The hourly rate may be more, but you may not need so long as you’ll be getting a helping hand with loading and unloading.

photo credit: adamwilson

Sam Harris, now 13, of Spalding, Lincolnshire was left badly brain-damaged after being kicked on a bouncy castle at a party. Today, at the High Court, he won his damages claim against the parents who hired out the bouncy castle. The judge said that they had not provided enough supervision. Timothy and Catherine Perry, who had hired out the bouncy castle for their triplets’ party are insured for the damages which could exceed £1 million.