Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 107 total)
  • Ideas needed: how to encourage (incentivise) people to cycle (or run) to work?
  • adi66
    Free Member

    I work for a large automotive OEM based in the midlands, and as a little side line I’ve been tasked with trying to think of ways to encourage sustainable transport to and from work, now we have a bus to the sites, interstate shuttle busses car share scheme etc, however I want to encourage cycling and running – as they are the healthy options as I see it.

    We have a sporting foundation, with the likes of Kelly Holmes and we sponsor the SKY pro cycling team, so some great opportunities to be had.

    We’ve had a huge uptake on the cycle to work scheme, but like most of these schemes 90% of the people that took up the CTW offer don’t actually cycle to work!

    Question is what to do? If its a incentive scheme, such as “ride to work 4 days a week and get a free salad from the canteen” how would you police it?

    The are obvious competitions we could run with our “famous friends” too……

    SO WHAT DO YOU THE GOOD PEOPLE OF STW THINK WOULD WORK?

    And do you have any experience of doing this at your workplace ?

    Cheers

    monksie
    Free Member

    Free breakfast on a Friday if you cycle every day. Two hours flexi time if you cycle 15 out of 20 days. Drying facilities. Lockers. Showers. Free towels provided. Free maintenance classes. Company based cycle club. Family cycle events. Contribution to entry fee of sportives. Charity cycle rides. Bicycle User Group with coffee and cakes at the meetings. Discount scheme at local bike shop.

    xcwanabe
    Free Member

    adequate secure bike storage
    lockers and shower facility
    cycling/running buddy scheme (regular runners/cyclists offer to “escort” new commuters to and from work)
    lights/hi-viz give aways at work a
    s people arrive either walking(don’t for get them), running or cycling.

    top two helped my wife start cycling to work
    middle one is just an idea I’ve had.
    last one something I’ve seen the Police/safety groups do to increase visablity in winter.

    podman
    Free Member

    I’m watching this thread with interest, as it’s very close to the topic of my PhD!

    Out of interest, where are you located and do you have any information about how far away people live? What’s the local environment like for cycling (terrain, major roads, segregated cycle lanes or paths)? What is the nature of your employees work, do they need to be “presentable”? Do you provide adequate and secure cycle storage? Do you have places for your workers to store clothing, change and shower at work?

    These are all common things that prevent those who are already keen from riding or using other self-propelled transport methods to travel to work. Once these things are sorted there’s more interesting things you can do! One of the strongest incentives to ride is if it has became a social-norm, but getting that situation isn’t straight-forward.

    spchantler
    Free Member

    increase road tax? make one lane of every road a cycle lane? 😉

    molgrips
    Free Member

    15p/mile.

    midlifecrashes
    Full Member

    For me it would have to be routes without cars, and I’m a cyclist. Don’t mind the odd side street, and out in the sticks on quiet roads to get to the traffic free route, but I’m just not mixing it with traffic anymore.

    seadog101
    Full Member

    It’s the showers and changing facilities that’s the key. Maybe 15mins overtime at each end of the day for those who do the bike/run scheme?

    steveoath
    Free Member

    Showers/changing facilities and secure storage are what did it for me. That and cycling is quicker than the train!

    5thElefant
    Free Member

    Everyone puts £100 into a kitty. Those not killed by a lorry at the end of the year split the pot? If nobody survives you get to keep it.

    porter_jamie
    Full Member

    charge people to park

    DougD
    Full Member

    A tough one, safe bike storage and decent showers definitely.

    With the rest, such as overtime, paid per mile, it isn’t particularly fair on those who, for what ever reason, can’t run/ride to work and therefore wouldn’t be able to financially, or otherwise, benefit from incentives.

    BiscuitPowered
    Free Member

    Might be helpful to look at it from the other direction too – what things disincentivise people from cycling to work.

    I cycle commute every day and love it – I don’t need an incentive to cycle to work since the enjoyment of cycling is the incentive in itself. But I can tell you straight that if I didn’t have secure storage and showers available at the other end I just wouldn’t do it. Ever.

    The threat of having my bike nicked and having to sit in my own festering sweat all day are very effective disincentives for me.

    trail_rat
    Free Member

    Sitting in traffic for an hour every other night just to get off site !!!! seems to be helping at my office…..

    From being the lone wierdo cyclist it seems folk have seen sense as i zip by them sat stationary.

    We now have more regular cyclists than our racks can handle and im pushing for more racks as on sunny days we dont even have enough to cover if all the regulars decided to come in on the same day never mind the not so regulars

    porter_jamie
    Full Member

    if you go to any ford plant or engineering centre in europe the bike shed is absolutely massive (comedy sized – takes some getting used to), secure and right next to the front entrance. all opposite to the uk.

    br
    Free Member

    I work for a large automotive OEM based in the midlands, and as a little side line I’ve been tasked with trying to think of ways to encourage sustainable transport to and from work, now we have a bus to the sites, interstate shuttle busses car share scheme etc, however I want to encourage cycling and running – as they are the healthy options as I see it.

    Is it only me that can see the irony?

    A previous company I worked at when moving offices created a simple postcode based database to establish actual journeys. You could do this and then look at how to go after the ‘low-hanging fruit’.

    But beware, just because you know their address, you’ve no idea of their actually journey. (kids etc)

    if you go to any ford plant or engineering centre in europe the bike shed is absolutely massive (comedy sized – takes some getting used to), secure and right next to the front entrance. all opposite to the uk.

    Yes, but then they commute less – a bit like how the UK was.

    mrhoppy
    Full Member

    Secure covered parking & decent showers as a given. Drying areas/lockers for soggy kit. Showering & changing time to be included in your working hours. Bikers breakfast one day a week/fortnight.

    But it largely is outside your control, for a remote factory or if you’re on a busy road or have very early or late shift patterns that will put people off and no amount of bacon will significantly over come that.

    totalshell
    Full Member

    make the faff at work of cycling as faff free as possible.. have the cycle parking up front and centre right by the front door make sure its secure and under cover.. have somehwere dedicated for cycling kit to be kept.. helmets rucksacks etc.

    sweaman2
    Free Member

    I don’t think it should be monetary or extra time based – that will just bring out the them and us. Good facilities are a must – we have showers; lockers; a drying area and towels along with secure parking.

    Our company also has limited onsite parking so I can come in later and not worry about fighting for the last spot of parking.

    They also do quarterly bike maintenance – so cycle in and leave your bike in the storage and the local shops sends it’s mechanics to give them a once over if you ask. A very popular option.

    Occasionally free breakfast for cyclists – Have someone giving out tokens at the bike storage – but we have an onsite canteen so that is easy to implement.

    bamboo
    Free Member

    As I guess you are at Gaydon then I think you aren’t going to get a massive uptake as it is relatively in the middle of nowhere. I cycle down the Banbury road and those travelling to JLR in their company Jags and Landrovers are pretty bad at giving cyclists space.

    toby1
    Full Member

    Team challenge, most logged commuting miles gets all the free Mars bars they can eat?

    Services and maybe offers will help too.

    Breakfast for any arriving by bike?

    IanMunro
    Free Member

    You could offer a complimentary strava KOM for the fastest person into work.

    adjustablewench
    Free Member

    A company can start a ctc bug (bicycle user group) cant remember all the ins and outs but worth looking into as it gives some benefits of ctc membership for a minimal amount.

    If routes may be an issue print off a map showing good local roads for cycling. Maybe next to a pin board so people can out where can put cards up asking for riding buddies – if people could see how many people are doing it already or are interested in having a go they might feel more than inspired…. and just having a notice board you are more likely to be having a look and meeting other people who are curious

    RobHilton
    Free Member

    Loads of ideas, discussions, getting a pool car, secure lock-ups, showers, ride to work schemes etc. happened at my place. The people who were interested mostly owned bikes already and rode in quite a lot, or were not very well off.

    An unintentional effect of the new

    charge people to park

    policy was what actually did it.

    Increased the number of riders by 2 and 1 guy who now walks. Who used to drive half a mile each way every day. And is, perhaps unsurprisingly, obese.

    Mostly people won’t do it cos they don’t want to; it’s a bit dangerous, takes effort and you can get wet when it rains. The 3 people mentioned above are taking some kind of stand cos parking used to be free and now they’d have to part with all of 10 quid a month.

    Viva la revolution!

    bearnecessities
    Full Member

    molgrips – Member

    15p/mile

    Deserves some consideration that.

    beej
    Full Member

    We get paid £85 per month to not have a parking space – this applies to walkers/bus users/cyclists/people getting lifts, so it isn’t seen as positive discrimination for the cyclists.

    samuri
    Free Member

    At our place they forced everyone to have an offsite parking day once a week. That was mainly done to reduce traffic on site but it generated a huge amount of cycle journeys.

    The very, very sad thing is that we’re very well provided for for facilities and cycle lanes and yet before this, very few people used them. We also managed to get hold of the commute survey run at the company. Out of over 3000 people on site, 50% live within 6 miles of the site. Well within easy cycling distance.

    During summer the cycle sheds and showers are packed. Obviously in winter I’m the only person there.

    Trekster
    Full Member

    http://www.dft.gov.uk/bikeability/the-three-levels/level-3/

    This and develop a safe route to work for each person

    edsbike
    Free Member

    I’m not sure which site you work at, but at Whitley the main thing holding people back is the crummy facilities.

    Nowhere to dry anything, changing/shower facilities filthy, cleaned once every two weeks max, pubes everywhere, unventilated, no lockers, unsafe bike sheds (PT car park), dismissal of many suggestions by some of the management, who seem fairly uninterested in actually doing anything about it. Dangerous site access, tired zombies in cars swerving around the speed bumps into the bike lane, potholes, and more.They don’t seem to realise that they could save millions in parking and transport costs if they spent a few hundred thousand on some top class biking facilities.

    My suggestion to encourage people to cycle is to do the opposite of all this ^^^

    Good luck though OP, I’m guessing you’re part of the ‘Cycle Group’?

    Edukator
    Free Member

    Stop sponsoring team SKY. Stick to sponsoring those that show cycling in a positive light.

    dobo
    Free Member

    I would only need 2 things to get me to cycle to work (not that i can in my current role)

    1, Secure bike storage
    2, Showers

    lockers would be handy but not essential

    adi66
    Free Member

    Kids are n bed, so I back on here now.

    Thanks to all that have posted so far 🙂

    To clear a couple of things up.

    The company has already got:

    *Semi secure bike shelters with CCTV, security patrols ( as part of the standard route) and on some locked gates during working hours. All of which are under discussion to improve ASAP.
    * change facility’s are great, in some areas, others are bad (edsbike) and improving all the time, there is a plan! we’ve got swanky shower / change rooms, that have been kitted out to a standard that our onside cycling group has agreed with “the company”
    * local roads are small side trial streets, and a busy main vein into the city centre, with cycle paths from many sides of the site.
    * Cleaning rotors are also getting improved so that the facility’s in some areas get a better clean and more often (edsbike – that’s for your area BTW)
    * regular meetings are held with cyclists and runners asking for suggestions that can be acted upon ( but obviously not all can be done overnight as they take planning, and in a large company that’s a bit of a mare TBH)
    * discounts in local bike shops are being looked into, as are having monthly or quarterly “cycle doctor” visits whose services would be paid for by the company ( bike owners would only have to pay for any parts needed)

    So all the facility’s are there, I’ was really after “fun stuff” to encourage people to bin the cars and get active. Although I do like the idea of paying to park on site to discourage people to drive in.

    Eds bike – drop me a PM with your CDSi-I’d and I’ll get in touch with you tomorrow at work.

    adi66
    Free Member

    Just realised we can’t do PM’s on here… Can we ?

    Edsbike

    Drop me a mail to my CDS (asmit130) and I’ll give you a call tomorrow to discuss a few things. 😉

    brakes
    Free Member

    hot chicks in the changing rooms

    adi66
    Free Member

    Does anyone have any ideas involving ” team sky” ?

    Sandwich
    Full Member

    One obese person ritually humiliated a week? Every quarter a fat person gets fired/culled (take HR advice for this). 8)

    gusamc
    Free Member

    get an unknown mate wear a suit and then to stand outside with a clipboard and to stop and talk to all incoming cyclists and write something down, then spread the rumour that due to C2W scheme abuse that government checks are now being carried out so that c2w abusers are to be identified for taxation purposes.

    CharlieMungus
    Free Member

    Offer small rewards rather than large rewards, eventually the extrinscimotivation will become intrinsic and you can remove the reward.

    adi66
    Free Member

    Gusamc …. I like that idea, not sure I could get away with it tho ! Lol

    crankbreaker
    Full Member

    As someone else said earlier and CharlieMungus above, beware of offering too big a prize and also as cash/OT as that will seriously annoy those who need to drive due to distance, kids, stuff they have to bring into work etc. Remember there are also people who don’t know how to cycle or are too scared to cycle on the road. Stuff like free hi-vis and maybe route planning or if you can do it have a ride with a pro/celeb for the people who cycle in the most for 6 months or something.

    I cycle in to work pretty much everyday in London, Wandsworth to Chiswick. It’s a great journey along the Thames even includes the odd stop off at a pub on the river on the way home when the weather is nice!

Viewing 40 posts - 1 through 40 (of 107 total)

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