Jean-Francois Decaux, chairman and chief executive of JCDecaux, said that he would deliver his promise if the government did something to improve on the capital's cycle routes.
He referred to the success of similar schemes in Austria and Germany, where the group has supplied 3,000 free bicycles, which are funded by advertising.
"People get the first hour free then pay €2 a hour and the scheme is funded through advertising billboards," Decaux told MediaGuardian. "My suggestion would be that the government builds the cycle routes London needs and we will provide the bicycles."
Decaux was speaking after the culture secretary Tessa Jowell urged advertisers to use their "famous creativity" to come up with solutions to the current crisis on obesity at the ISBA annual conference today.
Jowell was reported to have asked advertisers at today's conference to come up with positive messages and turn the phrase "everything in moderation" into a slogan.
She was reported to have said: "I know you can do it. You are the people who made condoms sexy again."
Decaux said that the offer was not that unusual and that the poster firm had a history of such initiatives.
"We have a history of contributing to public services such as the provision of bus shelters and super-loos. London's lack of cycle routes makes the city unsafe for cyclists" he said.
Jowell refused to be drawn on the cycling issue but said that she hoped the rest of the industry would be as creative in its approach to the problem of obesity.
The Food Standards Agency is due to agree its policy recommendations on the promotion of food to children next week, which it will then present to the government.
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