Virtually any business you frequent, from bookstores to coffee shops to clothing stores, offers gift cards. Now that same convenient cash replacement has come to one of London's popular companies: Checker Limousine.

Checker is the first transportation service company in London to offer gift cards, an initiative that launched earlier this month. "Nobody else has gift carding right now, and we wanted to be one of the first to offer that," explained Brad Rice, General Manager of Checker. "We want to do everything we can do to be all things to all people, and this is one more piece."

"A lot of students know when transportation's going to be required," added Denice Mills, Transportation Consultant for Checker. "Bus routes are not always available late at night, and that's just not convenient if you're going out with friends, if you're working in a remote area … With the Know Before You Go price zones, budgeting with your gift card makes things easy."

The Know Before You Go service is zone-based flat pricing, which means passengers never pay for sitting at a red light or being stuck in traffic. "For a student or for anybody who would like to have the information in advance of their trip, you can plan … you know exactly what it's going to (cost) every time you go," explained Rice.

According to Rice, Checker is very proud of the safety precautions it takes for its passengers and drivers. "Our (drivers) take significant training that exceeds the industry standard to ensure that they can deal with (various) situations."

The gift cards have no expiry dates or service fees. The initial gift card purchase, whether it's through the Checker website at checkerlimousine.com or at the company's London office at 573 Admiral Ct., must be for $25, $50, $75 or $100, but after that, adding funds to the card can be in any amount. You can add funds and check the balance of your gift card on the Checker Limousine website. Gift cards ordered online during the week are mailed out within 48 hours.

In addition to gift cards, Checker Limousine also offers a VIP account service. A VIP account holder pays a bill to Checker each month rather than pay the fare after the ride, which saves the passenger from having to carry cash.

For more information about gift cards or VIP accounts, check out checkerlimousine.com. To book a Checker, call 519-659-0400.