Biking_Lawyer

I cross posted this in the A&S forum:

I have to write an article in an employment newsletter each month that goes out to thousands of employers across the country, and this month I chose to write about the benefits to employers of bicycle commuting and what employers can do to encourage this.

I am looking for any recent studies re: the number of cyclists who communte nationwide; the heath benefits of bike communting, e.g., less insurance claims, more productivity, etc.


Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanx

lil brown bat

I doubt you'll find any studies of exactly the kind you're looking for, at least not any that are all that valid. How would you measure a connection between bike commuting and increased productivity, isolated from other factors? I doubt you can, but even if it were possible, I really doubt it's been done. If you're trying to persuade employers and want to use hard numbers to do so, I'd suggest looking at numbers that are a bit simpler and more provable -- like what it costs an employer to provide parking for one car.

Wino Ryder

I see it a bit differently. I think its a great undertaking thats been assigned to you, where you could really inform people of the tremendous benefits of bike commuting. Do a google search on bicycle commuting and see what pops up. I'd bet you could find everything you're looking for. Check also with the American bicycling Association to see what you could dig up. I also read where people who ride bicycles live at least 8-10 years longer than people who dont. Lots of good info out there.

cg1985

Some of the stats in the "2 Mile Challenge" commercial is pretty cool.

https://www.2milechallenge.com/#/home/video

RogerB

Start here: https://www.bicyclinginfo.org/why/

RogerB

I had also found a software tool a few weeks ago that allowed a business to plug in a bunch of entering arguments and then calculate the benefit to the company of promoting or incentivizing alternative forms of commuting. Depending on your company's situation, there are many potential and obvious benefits to the bottom line, nevermind the more nebulous notions of contributing to the general welfare of the local and global community.

I can't recall where I saw that tool, though. I'll see if I can dig it up.

ItsJustMe

I don't personally bike for economic reasons, but if you have people who work in cities where parking is expensive, that's a huge plus. Even if they can park and ride the last few miles it might really save some bucks.
I think different arguments are going to work for different people. And of course we know that no argument is going to work for 80% or more people currently, in the US.

RogerB

The question here is, how does it benefit a company to promote bicycling for its employees? All of us know the benefits to us. The trick is selling it to our employers.

Some employers can actually save money by offering incentives for alternative commuting (including bikes). The obvious example is if they can reduce the amount of rented parking space they have to pay for, then some of that savings can be used as a financial incentive to their employees.

huhenio

I live 6 miles away from work and i don;t want a vehicle payment nor insurance payment.

Does that make sense to you?

Single male, 37 year old, somewhere between white/blue collar worker.

mpls_commuter

You might want to check out "Quality Bike Parts" webpage(www.qbp.com). They're responsible for the Surly bike line among other things. Anyway, I took a tour of their facility a while ago and they are very serious about promoting bicycle commuting among their employees. They offer all kinds of incentives for workers who bike in. I'm sure they are aware of many tangible benefits of bicycle commuting.

atbman

Google "Cycling fewer days off sick" with or without quotes. Umpteen pages, some of which don't provide sources for figures quoted but the following do:

https://www.travelsmart.gov.au/employers/cycle.html

https://www.chicocommute.com/Business...ces/index.html