Cycle Friendly Communities
Cycle-Friendly Workplaces
Recommendations for Employers
Bike Parking: companies should provide bike racks in front of office buildings (Photo: Payton Chung on flickr)
According to Statistics Canada, cyclists are most likely to report that their commute is the most pleasant part of their day.[1]
Employers can do a lot to support and encourage the use of bicycles and human powered vehicles as an alternative to the car for employees.
Provide Employee Benefits & Subsidies
Companies large or small can provide incentives and benefits to employees interested in purchasing bicycles or human powered vehicles for commuting to work. This could be as part of an overal health or mobility package or similar to a monthly car allowance.
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Provide Bicycle Parking
Bike Lockers: undercrofts provides more secure bike parking for employees (Photo: faster panda kill kill on flickr)
Employers should provide safe, convenient and secure bicycle parking for employees who commute to work by bike.
To learn more about types of bicycle parking available to businesses large and small go to the bicycle parking page.
Bike Shelters: provide easily accessible but relatively secure parking for bikes (Photo VeloBusDriver on flickr)
Provide Showers & Changing Rooms
No Sweat: showers and changing facilities are becoming mandatory for new offices (Photo satguru on flickr)
In addition to bike parking, employers should also provide commuter facilities including showers and changing rooms for employees going to and from work by bike or subsidize the cost of using a nearby bike station with such facilities.
Note that zoning laws in some cities in North America now require showers to be installed in the workplace for use by commuting cyclists.
Provide On-Premises & Off-Site Bike Sharing
If your business operates in several separate buildings spread across a large industrial estate or in different locations around town, consider a bicycle sharing program to let employees move between offices or factories more quickly and efficiently.
Such a bike sharing scheme also provides a great branding opportuntity to get word about your product or service across to a wider audience.
Cargo bicycles and industrial trikes can also be used in place of fossil-fuel burning vehicles to move raw materials, supplies and goods around a factory floor. This helps to reduce operational costs, to make the environmental healthier for workers and to create a greener image for the Company.
Use Human Powered Vehicles
Camera Bike: purpose-built for Yahoo to automatically uploads photos to Flickr (Photo: Yodel Anecdotal on flickr)
For-profit enterprises as well as non-profit organizations, especially those in the services sector, can do a lot to reduce operatings costs and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fossil-fuel powered fleet vehicles, through the adoption of cargo bikes and purpose-built bicycles including pedelecs.
This approach tends to have a positive effect on employee moral, reducing turnover.
References
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