Employers, offer incentives for cycling to work
It's been almost two months since I began commuting by bike to my job at Scripps in West Knoxville. Not only have I saved more than $50 that would have been spent on gas -- more if my commute was more than a measly 6 miles round-trip -- but I've also found something that helps kick-start the day aside from coffee.
Those benefits aside, my commuting change hasn't been adopted by my coworkers. I have seen two other commuters on two-wheels, but only occasionally.
Gas was approaching $4 a gallon when I began riding. And it's still in that range currently, if not more. Why haven't more Knoxville commuters made the switch?
The unusually warm weather might have something to do with it, but I think it's because Knoxville employers (Scripps included) aren't giving their employees incentives to do so.
I can't fault my employer too much for not considering my request for an incentive to commute by bike. We are in the process of splitting the company after-all.
But if more Knoxville businesses and city leaders would take a cue from Oregon's Gov. Kulongoski we might improve several aspects of this city including: carbon emissions, air quality, health costs from overweight and obese residents (two-thirds of Knox County adults), not to mention the local economy.
All of these improvements stand to benefit local employers.
One local business, The Mast General Store, is already pushing a pedal-powered agenda by offering it's employees $4 for everyday they ride a bike instead of driving.
And if we're fortunate enough for Sen. Barack Obama to win the Presidency this fall, there is a promise in place to "increase funding for cycling and pedestrian projects."
Here are a few things Knoxville employers can do to provide incentives for their employees to change their commuting habits for the better:
- Secure, covered area to store bikes
- Showers and lockers (Scripps has this)
- Monthly bonus equal to the amount that would have been spent on gas (average price per gallon)
- Company-planned employee commuting groups
- More facilities to buy, eat or prepare lunches at the office
Does your employer offer incentives to commute by bike? What would get you to move from behind the wheel to the saddle?
12 comments
I would bike (actually, walk since I live just .5 mile from my office) but the issue is, I can't bike to all my assignments. As a reporter (and the same would go for advertising folks) this wouldn't work. We cover 10 counties, but even if we just focused on the city where we're based, the closest school I cover is a mile away and some others are 20 minutes by car. I wish I could "go green" but realistically, at least for the reporting subset of journalists not in a major metro area, that's not an option.
@Meranda
Yeah, I suppose my plea is focused on folks that don't need to use their car for work purposes.
I would hope that your employer offers a generous mileage reimbursement, but having worked in a newsroom myself I suppose that isn't true.
Beeson, this is solid work, great idea! The key to your idea in my mind is the marketing of greenways, hopping on and off Kingston Pike, etc...keeping employees safe and making it easier for them to get to work...comfort. Or another approach, 10 miles from work, which is a 20 mile day taking anywhere from 3 - 4 min, a mile on a good road, not greenways and safe drivers, roughly an hour of travel 100 calories every 10 min. commuting = multitasking.
@BCKnoxify
Thanks!
I think the greenways would be vital, that is if they actually connected. How awesome would it be to get from one end of town to the other without setting foot, or tire, onto Kingston Pike or Middlebrook Pike?
I hear ya on the burning calories bit. I hate morning exercise, but the commute doesn't feel like the gym fortunately!
Good post Patrick, although, I'm a bit perplexed as to why you think a "monthly bonus" should be paid by the employer.
Part of your compensation is based on the living wage for Knoxville. Since you're able to bike to work, shouldn't Scripps take money out of your paycheck rather than put more in?
Just playing the devils advocate.
@Casey
I recommend the monthly bonus as a means to encourage employees to use alternate methods of transportation for commuting to work.
As I stated in the entry, commuting in this manner benefits the company by reducing the environmental impact of vehicular traffic and improving the employees' health.
The latter is perhaps most important as it helps reduce the company's employee health insurance costs; a similar gain is made by reducing the number of employees that smoke.
A company that has a sizable percentage of employees that ride to work could use that as part of a marketing plan to either attract future hires, or promote their "green" activities.
I'm late to the game here but I'll play devil's advocate anyway because...well, it's just plain fun.
I'm not against the idea in and of itself, but I wouldn't expect any company to start offering monthly bonuses until the leadership had some hard, quantifiable data on which to base the decision. Let's be honest, no company is going to start handing out incentive checks unless it in some way benefits the company.
Sure, having employees bike to work might benefit the company by lowering insurance premiums because of the increased health of the biking employees. Maybe, maybe not. It's hard to say until you can see a direct correlation between biking improving an employee's health and that employee costing less from an insurance standpoint.
Let's say you are healthier and saving the company money on health insurance. That's better for the company and better for you. Of course you are also transporting your completely exposed body along a public roadway with 2+ tons of steel flying by you at 50mph+. When a car eventually drills a biker and the biker has to have their spinal column realigned and leg sewn back on and the hospital bills top $500k, who's going to eat that cost? The insurance company initially, but that will of course eventually get passed on to the company itself in one form or another. Now the company is left with higher premiums than before AND they're shelling out $4/day to every employee who decided to bike to work.
Given that handing out $4 per day biked to each employee could potentially add up to tens of thousands of dollars a year, the company is going to want to see something beyond, "Hey, we feel healthier and green is so in right now."
It's treading on a slippery slope fallacy, but I think you also have to ask where the company draws the line on providing incentives to employees for activities that are beneficial whether there is incentive or not. Plenty of employers offer incentives for quitting smoking and exercising and now we'd like to add biking to work to that last. Why that and not having an incentive for changing the air filters in my house? Or buying a pair of shoes that cures the pain in my back and makes me more productive? Or buying a mattress that helps me sleep better at night and sends me to work in morning energetic?
At a certain point it seems like the quality of life improvement for said activity ought to be incentive enough, whether the employer chips in or not.
Lastly, I believe I just set some sort of record in blog comment length. Is there a prize, award, or incentive program for this kind of quality participation? :-)
@Matt Heisig
Thanks for the long, but good comment!
I understand where you're coming from, and honestly I agree with you to a certain point. Companies most certainly shouldn't dole out incentives willy-nilly, especially if the return isn't quantifiable.
I think cycling to work is based on the points I made in both the entry and comments.
Cycling is one of the more healthier activities you can do -- it isn't hard on your body and you burn a lot of calories, all while increasing coordination -- compared to running, walking, etc. It would be like the stop-smoking and start-exercising incentives rolled into one!
I've heard the "...when a car eventually drills a biker..." argument before, and I don't think it holds water. You're statistically more likely to be in a car-on-car accident than one involving a car and a bike.
Of course, that statistic can change when you start cycling more often in traffic.
In fact, most of the folks arguing this point are those that have never tried road cycling on a regular basis.
Keep in mind that my plan wouldn't work for all employees or all companies. The roads to work would need to be conducive to cycling -- Knoxville isn't the place for the most part unless you're an experienced cyclist.
But for other companies in cities that did have the foresight for high gas prices, and transportation alternatives, cycling to work is a great way to stay healthy and keep green.
Great discussion. I'll jump in & add: another option for those who don't want to work up a sweat getting to work, or those who need to easily get around to appointment is an electric bicycle. The option to add power to your pedaling when you need it really helps in getting you work without breaking a sweat. Some days a little extra boost helps!
@Kelley
Might as well get a 50cc scooter if you're considering electric options. 120 MPG and no electric bills to worry about!
This is a very insightful piece. At the University of Florida, all of the new buildings have showers and bike racks to offer an incentive to those working there.
Also, an interesting report from NPR about Congressman Earl Blumenauer, head of the Bipartisan Congressional Bike Caucus, who cycles to the Capitol every day:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91831971
@Jessica
Thanks for the comment! Sounds like UF is a progressive place of higher learning.
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