Cycle to success!

Cyclescheme, 04.05.2011

There are so many advantages to cycling to work that, once you start, you'll wonder how you ever managed before. Whether you're looking to save money, save time, or improve your health - or maybe all three - pedal power is the way forward. We visited the Royal Devon and Exeter Foundation Trust (RD&E) to find out how employees there have benefitted from commuting by bike.

The RD&E employs around 6,500 people and 600-700 of them have got a bike through Cyclescheme over the past three years.

John Perratt, Workforce Information Manager, says: “As a health provider, we’re keen on improving the working lives and the health and fitness of employees, and that’s one of the reasons we were keen to set up the scheme."

“Also, from a purely practical point of view, car parking on this site is limited and it's quite expensive, so setting up a scheme was a way of encouraging employees to get into work other than by car. And we have our green credentials as well; we try to encourage people to cycle for environmental reasons."

It’s a familiar story. Many companies and organisations nationwide have set up schemes for their employees over the past few years for similar reasons, attracting existing cyclists and newcomers alike.

“The employee I was speaking to most recently already has a mountain bike and now she’s getting herself a road bike, so she’s obviously quite a keen cyclist,” says John. “Some people get some quite exotic stuff but, equally, there are people going out and getting inexpensive bikes that they’ll use purely for commuting. They live within two or three miles of the hospital and they’re getting something that doesn’t cost too much, just to get them to and from work.”

Aside from getting a bike, another key attraction is that you can include your essential accessories along with it, and get them tax-free too. So, for example, you might need a helmet and waterproof jacket, a bike-specific bag and some lights so that you stay safe and comfortable on your regular rides. No problem! You can get them all together so that you’re ready to ride straightaway. Plus, the whole process is very straightforward for employers and employees alike.

More and more employers now treat a tax-free bike scheme as a central plank of a broader bike-friendly policy. Apart from anything else, encouraging employees to ride to work results in a healthier workforce and that means fewer days taken off sick, so it makes sense to provide good bike facilities from a purely financial point of view.

If your employer has a scheme set up, they might be open to the idea of taking things up to the next level, like the RD&E have.

“We have numerous bike racks all round the site, and there are two cycle shelters where you have to use your staff badge to get in, and they work well,” says John, who commutes by bike himself. “And because it’s a clinical environment, quite a few areas have lockers, changing rooms and showers. I cycle 10 miles to work and can have a shower when I get here, which is very useful.”

Even if your workplace doesn’t have that level of facilities, you can encourage your employer to support cycling to work in other ways. The RD&E, like lots of other employers, runs a‘buddy scheme’where an existing bike commuter meets up with someone who is just starting in order to give them some support and perhaps show them some new routes.

Exeter is one of England’s flagship Cycling Towns that has been awarded funding specifically for developing bike routes and facilities, so there’s a whole network of traffic-free paths for cyclists to use. If someone has previously driven to work, they might not know the local bike paths or useful cut-throughs, and a buddy scheme costs nothing to organise.

“We run a bike day in spring or early summer where a couple of the bigger local shops come along, and they’re happy to bring in some equipment,” says John. “They’ll normally provide prizes for a draw.

“We have Doctor Bike on site so people can bring along their bikes and have them fixed, and I’ll be there to explain the benefits of the salary sacrifice scheme and the savings you can make if you get a new bike through it. We publicise the day in advance and it has proved very popular in the past.”

“We’re also trying to organise a discount card for the local bike shops, so if someone takes in a bike they’ve got through the scheme they can save some money. We’re still working on that one!”

All in all, the tax-free bike scheme at RD&E has been a triumph. The employer benefits from a fitter, healthier workforce. The employees are happy: they’re riding around on shiny new bikes. Plus, there’s a little less traffic on the roads, a bit less pollution in the air... It all helps. There really isn’t a downside here.

“It has been a big success,” says John. “We reached the take-up level we wanted to achieve, passed it, and we’ve kept that momentum for three years with 200-250 people taking advantage of the scheme each year. That’s good going.”