Are you a dedicated bike commuter that has no place to leave your bike at the place of work? Have you brought up the bike-friendly office improvements before in general meetings and they have all been shot down?
A bicycle-friendly workplace is great for your company and your employees. However, if you feel like bringing up this topic in meetings is not paying off, try to re-evaluate your reasoning.
Most importantly, before you take a meeting about the possibility of installing racks and other “amenities” for bike commuters, be prepared. Go in with some other arguments than “I bike to work and leaving my bike chained up down the street is inflicting.”
When your employees and colleagues cycle to work or engage in more activity in their leisure time, they could end up contributing more creative ideas and generally increasing their productivity more. This has been seen in a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, which found that exercise improved mood and that better mood led to more creative thinking. So if your company is looking out for more creativity, it could certainly be worth encouraging cycling.
It can also cost significantly less to have your employees cycle to work than drive. This is because car parking spaces are far pricier to install and/or maintain than bicycle storage.
Cyclists also take fewer sick days than non-cyclists. A London School of Economics study found that regular cyclists take one fewer sick day per year, saving the economy £128 million annually in absenteeism. So any investment you make in encouraging workers to cycle will likely pay for itself in improved health and higher productivity levels.
Therefore, installing a bike rack at your office premises, could not only spark up creativity and working process but could also save your company and employees money in the long run.
There are also other benefits available to employees should their workplace choose to install a bike rack and encourage cycling, these include:
- Improving Your Company’s Environmental Image – Encouraging cycling to work reduces carbon pollution and shows the employer has a keen interest in the well-being of the local community and environment. This will improve the company’s corporate image and demonstrate corporate social responsibility.
- Improving Staff health, fitness, and morale – A healthier, fitter workforce means better performance at work and fewer sick days being taken. Furthermore, the employer is seen to be concerned about employees’ welfare. The Scheme also offers a tangible benefit to staff in addition to the basic salary package.
- Employer branding, recruitment, and employee welfare – Cycle to work is good for employer branding and may, therefore, help your appeal to potential recruits. It demonstrated concern for the welfare of an organization’s employees.
- Increase Parking Capacity at a little cost – Car parking can require some serious real estate, not to mention adequate road access. Bikes are far more versatile and take up much less space, which means more opportunities to integrate accommodations into a commercial space. A single bike rack can offer parking for multiple bikes in a convenient location with prime access to a building entrance. Your business can make cycling a more practical alternative for getting to and from work by installing two-tier bike racks. One of the most desired benefits of the two-tier bike racks is that they work great where space is limited, as they have a strong level of accessibility. Two-tier bike racks give the greatest capacity in confined spaces, with unbeatable convenience.
- Optimize the Space – Without proper infrastructure, business-owners might find cyclists parking in un-wanted spaces, chaining their bikes to trees, fences, railings, or other site furnishings. This can lead to damage or obstructions to pedestrian or road traffic. Preemptive planning ensures more efficient use of space to accommodate a greater range of uses.
There are several ways to accommodate secure bike parking in the workplace. The keys to successful parking are solid equipment, security and accessibility.
Tip: Envision the bigger picture of Bike Parking
It’s best to present your request to the community or local business owners as a comprehensive plan for improving bike parking in your neighbourhood. If possible, talk about how your proposal will fill gaps in existing bike parking in your neighbourhood and supplement other pieces of the bike network, including bike lanes or greenways. It’s also helpful to mention how reliable bike parking will encourage people to explore your neighbourhood on a bike, boosting local business and incentivizing safe, environmentally responsible forms of transportation.
Good luck and fingers crossed that you’ll be parking your bicycle out front in a proper facility like a Two-tier bike rack soon.