what is a Cycle Friendly Employer?
A cycle-friendly employer is an organisation that does more than simply tolerate cycling. It understands and values the benefits of cycling. It provides good facilities, offers support and encouragement, and actively promotes cycling amongst the workforce.
No organisation is perfect. Every organisation could do a little bit more to encourage cycling. Cycle-friendliness should be regarded as a journey, rather than a destination. And even the longest journey (as the saying goes) begins with a single step.
One large company, when asked why it was so keen to promote cycling, called its policy ‘enlightened self-interest’. The ‘enlightened’ bit is easy to understand:
- Bicycles are kind to the environment.
- They are quiet and pollution-free.
- Cycling helps create safer, more neighbourly communities.
- Cycling is part of the solution to our traffic congestion problems.
And ‘self-interest’? Employers have a lot to gain from cycling:
- Regular cyclists tend to be fitter and healthier than non-cyclists.
- This contributes towards greater productivity and lower rates of absenteeism due to illness.
- Bikes are nimble vehicles, able to squeeze past the queues and the road-works. So cyclists tend to be more punctual employees.
- People want to cycle. So why hold them back? Give cyclists the facilities and the support that they deserve and you get a happier and more motivated workforce.
- Be seen to be green. The media are interested in cycling stories.
- Being a cycle-friendly employer is a way of winning valuable publicity at relatively little cost.
- Impress your local authority. Increasingly, planning consent comes with strings attached - employers must develop Travel Plans. If you’re a cycle-friendly employer you’re well on the way to having a credible plan.
