Implement a Bicycle Commuter Program
Bicycling is a healthy, economical, and fun way to get to work. Thousands of employees bicycle to work every day. The NETS Resource Center offers practical suggestions and links to resources so that both interested employers and employees can implement a workplace Bicycle Commuter program that promotes safe cycling. The site is designed to ease the transition to bike commuting for employees and to help employers support this transportation mode as an alternative way to commute to work.
For distances of less than five miles, the bicycle is a very practical transportation alternative. Those employees who are concerned with maintaining or improving their physical fitness, protecting the environment or in saving money and already cycle for recreation are often willing to commute from ten or more miles away. There is a “hard-core” group of cycling enthusiasts who will always bike to work but there is a much larger group of employees who would bike to work if employers incentivized and organized the effort.
Guidelines for Employers: How to Support a Bicycle Commuter Program
- Appoint a Bike Coordinator
A worksite fitness/wellness or benefits coordinator who currently bikes to work is the logical choice to head a bicycle commuter program. The most important attributes for a workplace cycle-champion are enthusiasm and an avid interest in cycling. The Coordinator functions as a liaison between employee cyclists and company management. With assistance from a local bike shop, bicycle club or a local bicycle advocacy group, the coordinator can evaluate facilities and identify safe routes to the work place. The Bike Coordinator should be able to devote a few hours a week to launch and monitor the worksite bike-to-work program.
- Establish a Bike Users Group (BUG) composed of cyclists or those interested in cycling from all aspects of the organization to assist the Coordinator in advising management on what facilities, incentives and types of education/training would encourage and support employees in cycling to work. The BUG can also function as a forum for cyclists to exchange information and to promote safe cycling to others within the organization.
- Find Out About Cycling Conditions Near Your Worksite
Contact your local city or county planning agency, transportation department and local law enforcement to determine if the streets surrounding your site are bicycle compatible (wide curb lanes, bike lanes, trails or low traffic/low speed streets).
- Be familiar with your employees’ commuting patterns by conducting a “Commuter Survey” to better understand the feasibility of being able to cycle to work.
- Help Employees Plan Safe Routes to Work
Routes that employees might use to drive to work may not be the same routes that cyclists would use to commute to work. Providing cyclists with help in choosing their routes to work will help them to cycle more safely. A large map showing the safest routes to your worksite by bicycle would be very helpful to those employees considering biking to work.
In addition to the local sources identified above, the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center at www.bicyclinginfor.org/bikemore/map.cfm has a databank of bike maps for cities, counties and trails organized by state.
Employers may also consider establishing a “mentor” or “buddy” system for employees who are novice commuters, pairing them with more experienced cycling commuters. The expertise you need may be right in your workplace or you can contact a local bicycle shop or bike club to identify experienced cycling commuters that help employees get the hang of riding in traffic and find a safe route to work and back. Mentors provide new commuters with information, advice and support to build their confidence and ride safer when cycling to work. They often accompany new commuters on their initial commutes by bike to work.
The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center at www.bicyclinginfo.org/bikemore/support.cfm has links to various bicycle mentor programs.
- Demonstrate Company Support for the Bike Commuter Program - Give a Free “Starter Kit” to Bicycle Commuters
The kit can include tips on safe cycling, reflective stickers, a water bottle and a local bike map. Have T-shirts made with your company logo and a bike-friendly design or slogan. Have the BUG determine the kit contents.
- Provide Bicycle Education for All Employees
Post bicycle safety education and awareness materials about safe biking practices, incentives and promotional activities around your worksite.
Provide initial and on-going bicycle training to reinforce safe cycling and to increase road confidence. Open the training to all employees, those who bike to work, as well as those who ride recreationally. Choose from among the many activities suggested here the ones that will be most useful to your employees based on the Commuter Survey results and the recommendations of the Bike Users Group.
- Provide Free or Low-Cost Bicycle Helmets
Bicycle helmets are the single most effective way to reduce head injuries and fatalities resulting from bicycle crashes. All riders must wear helmets, even on short trips. To promote the use of helmets by your employees provide free helmets or buy them in bulk and offer them at cost. Purchase helmets that you would be proud to wear. Select a color or design that encourages cyclists to wear it on every ride. For further information on where to purchase helmets.
- Contact a local bicycle shops to showcase new bicycle models and offer free or subsidized maintenance tune-ups for bike commuters. A bicycle shop may be willing to offer volume discounts on bicycles and gear for your employees as well as sponsor or host training workshops or bike clinics.
- Provide Loaner Bicycles to Employees
Purchase some loaner bicycles for commuters to use in the event that their bicycles breakdown on route to work or for trial use by employees who are considering cycling to work. These bicycles can also be used during the work day for employees to ride recreationally during breaks or to do errands.
- Provide Visible, Secure and Accessible Bicycle Parking
Employees need to know their bicycles are safe while they work. Many spend over $1000 on their bicycle and cycling equipment. Surveying your employees, formally or informally, will help determine the amount of parking your site will need. Some communities have ordinances governing the number of bicycle parking spaces employers must provide.
Good bicycle parking is:
- Clearly labeled
- Located as close to the building entrance as possible
- Sheltered from the elements
- Located where there are people, security personnel or cameras or in a locked room
- Well lit
- Sufficiently separated or protected from motor vehicle parking to prevent damage to parked bicycles
- Provide Showers and Changing Facilities
Bike commuters will need a place to freshen up or change clothes before work and a locker or place to store their clothes and cycling gear. A shower would be a great help to cyclists, especially if towels, hairdryers and lockers are available. If this is not feasible, consider making arrangements with a nearby fitness center or gym so that employees can use their shower facilities.
It is recommended that in buildings with 50-100 employees, one shower be available. In buildings with 100- 250 employees, one shower for each sex should be provided. Buildings housing over 250 employees should provide at least four showers with two of them being accessible to the disabled.
- Offer Incentives to Employees Cycling to Work
Biking to work is a great way for employees to stay in shape, lead a healthy lifestyle and arrive at work refreshed and full of energy. Incentivize biking to work by:
- Paying a subsidy to bicycle commuters who don’t use company parking spaces.
- Offering interest free bicycle purchase loans.
- Provide a Guaranteed Ride Home Program
What if I need to get home for an unexpected emergency? Ease employee concerns by establishing a guaranteed ride home program that will provide emergency rides home to people who bicycle or take other alternative transportation to work at least twice a week. This is helpful in the event of a bicycle breakdown, bad weather, or an emergency at home. Depending on the size and assets of your organization, bicycle commuters may borrow a company car or have their cab fare reimbursed.
- Vanpool/carpool Vehicles Equipped with Bicycle Racks
If your organization operates vans and pool cars, consider equipping them with bike racks to facilitate commuting by bicycle to work for at least a portion of the commute.
Guidelines for Employees: How to Get Ready to Cycle to Work
Below are some suggestions to help employees as they ease into bicycle commuting.
- Have your bicycle “tuned-up”, especially if you haven’t cycled in a while to ensure a safe and comfortable ride. And determine if your bike “fits” you?
- Contact your employer’s or community’s bicycle club or commuter program so that you can be in touch with others in your neighborhood who bike to work to find the most convenient and safest route for you to use.
- Find a co-worker or friend who bikes and commute with them initially to feel safer. Try a practice run on a weekend to find a good route and see how long it takes. The best route may not be the same one that you normally use when driving to work.
- Plan how you will cross busy roads. Seek out bike paths, traffic signals or over or under passes to connect your route safely.
- Practice your safety skills and riding habits when not in a hurry so that you will be prepared and skilled when needed.
- Start by cycling to work just one day a week (try it on casual Friday.)
- If you live far from work, try bicycling to the nearest public transportation or commuter rail station, or drive part of the way, park and bike the rest of the trip.
- Know where that you will park your bicycle while at work.
- Know what clothes you will wear and how you will carry your gear. Will you commute in your work clothes?
Sources for Additional Information on Establishing a Bicycle Commuter Program
There are a number of national, state and local organizations available to work with employers to make their businesses bicycle-friendly. There is an abundance of detailed information, accessible online, on how to implement a commuter bicycling program.
Below are links to bicycle advocacy groups that have developed cycle-friendly commuter guides. There are many groups actively trying to encourage more people to cycle to work and to do so safely. To locate the many additional sources of information, do an online search.
USDOT Headquarters in Washington, DC
The site is for employees who commute by bicycle to the USDOT headquarters in Washington, DC but also provides information and resources for other employers to implement a bicycle commuter program for their workplace.
Site: www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/bikeped/commute/
Commuter Connections in the Washington, Metropolitan Area
The site provides complimentary information on a host of commuter programs. Thousands of DC area employees bike to work every day. Commuter Connections has a guide designed to ease the transition to bike commuting for Washington metropolitan area employees and to help employers encourage this smarter way to work.
Site: http://www.mwcog.org/commuter2/
League of American Bicyclists (LAB)
LAB is an organization committed to promoting bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation. The League works through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America. To download, Bike to Work Commuter's Booklet,visit http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/pdf/BTWW_Booklet.pdf
Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation in Seattle, WA
The Cascade Bicycle Club Education Foundation was created in 2001 to provide education programs and consulting services to the local community, in the interest of creating a better community through bicycling. Among their initiatives, they promote bicycle commuting through individual and corporate programs and work with schools on fitness programs and Safe Routes to Schools.
Site: http://www.cbcef.org/commute.html
Chicagoland Bicycle Federation
The mission of the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, founded in 1985, is to improve the bicycling environment and thereby the quality of life in the region by promoting bicycle safety, education and facilities, and by encouraging use of the bicycle as an energy-efficient, economical and nonpolluting form of transportation and as a healthful and enjoyable form of recreation.
Their Bike to Work Guide: Steps to Encourage Bicycle Commuting at Your Workplace 's Bike to Work Guide gives you the tools to start a bike-to-work program at your workplace, including how to promote bicycle commuting to management, fend off excuses for not riding, and encourage others to join you. Download at www.biketraffic.org/commute/BTWguide2002-4.pdf
Bike Iowa
Bike Iowa exists solely for educational purposes to educate the public on bicycling related issues for the state of Iowa. They have a helpful Commuter Reference Guide. Download at www.bikeiowa.com/asp/bike/CommuterGuide.asp
