Parkour acrobats performed stunts in front of commuters this morning as part of a campaign to promote alternative methods of travel during the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The free runners, from world-renowned group 3RUN, moved between London Bridge and Monument stations to show the two sites are a “hop, skip and a jump” apart and encourage commuters to walk rather than get the Tube where possible during the London 2012 Games.

Transport for London (TfL) staff were also handing out free walking maps at London’s mainline railway stations as part of the Get Ahead of the Games initiative.

The maps have been created to encourage people to swap short Tube journeys for walking during the Olympics and Paralympics, and will be available at mainline and some London Underground stations during Games-time.

London Bridge is a hotspot station during the Games, and is expected to be exceptionally busy at certain times of the day as people move through the station on their way to venues.

Ben Plowden, director of planning for TfL surface transport, said: “London is going to be transformed into a gigantic sporting and cultural venue at Games-time, so London’s transport networks will, at certain times and in certain places, be exceptionally busy.

“We aren’t expecting Londoners to recreate the amazing feats of acrobatics that we’ve seen here this morning but the performance demonstrates in an engaging way just how quick and easy it is to walk between busy stations instead of waiting for a Tube or train.”

Free-runner Sam Parham said: “What we do is great fun and fantastic for people to watch but today has the more serious message that walking is the easiest alternative to taking public transport during the Games.

“I know I’d rather be out in the fresh air soaking up the atmosphere this summer.”

TfL is also supporting Recyclebank’s re:route app which encourages people to walk and cycle more in London by rewarding green behaviour with points that can be redeemed against offers and discounts from Recyclebank partners, which include including Marks & Spencer, Planet Organic and Champneys.

This morning’s events coincided with the launch of Living Streets’ Walk to Work Week.