Financial benefits to employers from encouraging cycling to work
How OCW can help employers encourage workplace cycling
Notes and references

Oxford Cycle Workshop provides various services which could help an employer encourage cycling to work - see our pages on cycle training or the Bike Doctor for example. For spring 2005 we will tie all of these things into a complete package, along with additional consultancy and promotions specific to commuting. We're looking for clients to work with, so read this page and get in touch with us if it's something you'd like to look at.

Financial benefits to employers from encouraging cycling to work

There are many benefits from employees cycling to work - reduced congestion in the immediate vicinity of your workplace, less pollution and an enhanced environmental image for your company. And your employees save money on their travel costs. But in the end, most transport consultants recognize that it's the bottom line which really clinches the deal. So how does cycle commuting save you, an employer, money?

Reduced car parking costs - car parking spaces cost around £400 per year, minimum. £2,000 per year is not uncommon, where security services and other benefits are included. The cost of cycle parking is negligible by comparison, and you can park 20 bikes in one car parking space. Also there is no tax on cycle parking spaces. In addition, if you wish to expand your business, you are much more likely to get planning permission if a significant proportion of your employees cycle to work (in many cases measures to create such a shift are written into your planning permission).

Reduced lateness - the latest report from the CBI into congestion put the cost to UK business as a whole at £20 billion. 60% of UK journeys to work are 5km or less. Even a slow cyclist can manage 15km/hour, which means that their journey will take around 20 minutes maximum - usually quicker than a car at peak times. Studies have shown that cyclists have the most reliable journey times of any transport mode, because they are almost entirely unaffected by traffic conditions. How often do your employees arrive 5, 10, 20 minutes late, flustered and irritable, having sat in a traffic jam? How many working hours does this cost you per year?

Reduced absenteeism - studies have shown that cycling to work can reduce absenteeism by up to 80%! That's a huge figure, and probably represents the largest saving of all (what percentage of your turnover is spent on staff?). It seems hard to believe, until you consider the overwhelming weight of evidence now stacking up to suggest that few of us exercise enough to stay healthy. Regularly walking or cycling cuts the risk of coronary heart disease by up to 50%, and of stroke by 66%. Cycling is excellent aerobic exercise, and because your bodyweight is supported as you ride, it is one of the few ways that the elderly or overweight can exercise without putting strain on their joints. In one trial, non-exercisers who began cycling around 19 miles per week rapidly improved their aerobic fitness by 11%. Exercise has also been shown to improve mood, reduce stress, increase alertness and reduce incidence of many mental illnesses such as depression. In fact, you might well ask can you afford for your employees NOT to cycle?

If all of the above sounds too good to be true, don't take our word for it. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and check out the references, most of them are online.

How OCW can help employers encourage workplace cycling

The emerging consensus amongst transport professionals (such as transport planners, council officers and consultants) is that to persuade people to shift to cycling requires a 'total journey' approach. No one measure will succeed on its own - to make cycling an attractive alternative we need to remove or reduce the obstacles, promote the benefits and guide people through the first steps.

As an employer, the first thing you need to do is conduct a staff travel survey and come up with a travel plan for your company. If you don't do this, you won't have anything to measure your results against, and you won't know if you're getting value for money. OCW can help you do this, or if you have an existing transport consultant working on your travel plan, we can discuss the cycling aspects with them.

When you've decided on a plan, OCW can provide pretty much all of the practical assistance you'll need for the cycling part. This will include:
Promotional materials and events - we'll talk to your employees about the benefits of cycling, give them a chance to try out different bikes, provide posters, leaflets or run events.
Cycle purchasing advice - it's impossible to cycle without a bike, so we'll help people decide what to buy, and let you know about finance schemes and tax breaks that are out there to make it cheaper for them (and you, the employer).
Cycle parking - we can install cycle parking at your workplace. In addition, we can install parking at the homes of your employees if they have none. This is part of the 'total journey' philosophy. Any cycle journey will require parking at BOTH ends!
Cycle training - the single biggest obstacle stopping many people from cycling is fear of being on the road, yet mile for mile cycling is safer than being a car passenger. Cycle training not only increases confidence, it further reduces the risks.
Route advice - our staff have massive experience between them of cycling and organising rides in and around Oxford, so we can provide one-to-one route consultations with all new cyclists to help them plan their safest and most pleasant route to work.
Accessories - lights, locks, bags, waterproof clothing. All of these are vital for practical, comfortable year-round cycling. We'll provide good advice on the bewildering range of kit on offer, and excellent deals on all the key items, plus advice on what subsidies and tax breaks might be available.
On-site maintenace, and maintenance training - we'll bring our 'Bike Doctor' onto your site on a regular basis to keep your staff's bikes in tip-top condition. And with many years experience of teaching basic maintenance, we can teach your cycling staff how to mend punctures and make minor adjustments themselves, giving them even more control over their own transport.

References

If you need convincing of the health benefits of cycling, simply type 'benefits cycling' into Google and see what comes up. Variations on the search will bring up almost every local authority in the UK, plus a myriad of other sources. However, for listing some more precise figures, with references to original research, the best site we've turned up so far is Australian - although most of its evidence is drawn from the UK. Click on [www.travelsmart.gov.au/employers/cycle.html#benefits]