Dahon.Steve

An article in USA today choose Intel as one of the best companies for those commuting to work. According to the article, Intel has chosen because they basically had a car-pool program.

>>>>Eligible incentives included the chance to work from home and financial subsidies for public transit. Companies also had to make sure employees had a ride home in an emergency.<<<<<

The subsidies called "Transit checks" for those taking public transportation is old news. There was no mention of using bicycles as alternative to curb congestion. Furthermore, this type of car-pool subsidy is nothing new and loads of companies have them on the books.


>>>>>More than 75% of U.S. workers get to work by driving alone, compared with 64% in 1980. Average delays per driver in the 85 biggest U.S. cities have risen to 46 hours a year in 2002 from 16 hours in 1982, according to the Texas Transportation Institute.<<<<<

Folks. Eventually these numbers will only get higher. When things get worse, that car-pool program by Intel won't do much for all those commuters.

The article calls Intel, the king of commutes. Here's what makes a company the King of commutes in my opinion. A company that supports it's rail and bus infrastructure with significant donations and community support. It's one that builds bike lockers, secured covered racks and showers for the employees while subsidizing those who cummute by bicycle. It's one that supports legislation that supports "Smart Growth" housing patterns which are denser, closer and affordable. It's a company that uses its' money to block subdivision growth patterns which force people to travel longer while keeping home prices unaffordable.

Intel does none of these things.




https://www.usatoday.com/money/indust...-commute_x.htm

John E

My office is located 7 miles from home, and I can easily avoid the only bicycle-hostile intersection in the area (Palomar Airport Road at I-5, in Carlsbad). We have showers and a big locked warehouse area in which we can safely park our bikes. I have bus and commuter rail options, plus impromptu carpooling for the ride home, if necessary or convenient. I don't need to mention the world's most benign climate. What more could I want?

Seanholio

And my employer thinks I'm demanding?

I pushed, for months, to get additional bike lockers when the capacity was four. I was regularly coming in, and finding the lockers full. I was told not to bring my bike into the building, but I ignored that.

Finally, after months of yelling at the brick wall known as Facilities, they granted my wish without allowing me any input. They stacked another four lockers on top of the ones we have. I feel sorry for anyone with a heavy X-mart bike who tries to put their bike up there. Fortunately, I haven't had to try to put my 30lb recumbent up there, yet.

Poguemahone

My place of work (such as it is) has no troubles whatsoever with me riding. I can bring my bike in, leave it just about anywhere I see fit (short of the gallery, the curator would freak out), change, whatever, with nary a complaint. I've gotten more than one co worker a bike or fixed their rides. My fave was the purple Fuji with the pink Sugino cranks single speed I made for one of the desk workers.

RonH

My work place is great for commuters. I work for the Atlanta Bicycle Campaign. ABC is a bicycling advocacy organization located near downtown Atlanta. Everyone commutes by bike and we bring our bikes inside and park them next to our desks or lean them against an empty wall. The bike is never more than 20 or 30 feet away and all my stuff is safe and stays dry if it rains.

CaseyLS

My school is great for commuters. We have very visible bike racks so if you are at all competant when you lock your bike it shouldn't get lifted(/knocks on fake laminate wood) By place of work allows me to ride my bike as long as I am not closing the store that night. They don't think I would be capable of holding the deposit bag while riding and I can't have a back pack or bike bag due to loss prevention reasons.

PainTrain

I work for a health insurer in a campus with very limited parking, so we're encouraged to "alternative commute". I'm in the datacenter; we keep our bikes in the stairwell that takes a proximity badge to enter. Showers and personal lockers provided.

The landlord runs a monthly prize drawing for "alt comms" (bikes, carpool, rail/shuttle, motorcycle, etc.). Last month I won a Jamba Juice gift card

noisebeam

Are you sure?

Dahon.Steve

Well... According to the article, Intel won this award by subsidizing car-pooling. The article said nothing about bicycles or it's support and funding for mass transit. This article was in the front page of USA Today yet these perks are provided by hundreds of companies today. There was nothing special about Intel and its "commuter" benefit program to brag about.

In fact, my company offers all those things and more yet we were not on this list. What's wrong about this so called "commuter company" award is it's total focus on motor transport. The car-pool concept is neither new or unique and simply a temporary bandage on a growing problem. How can you be a pro-commuter company when there is no support for bicycles? The article mentions Intel supports public transport but what is it they actually do or is this just lip service? All I seen was their clear support for car-pooling. That's a joke.

noisebeam

From what I understand they provide lockers, showers, covered bike parking with CCTV monitoring and security patrol, free bus passes and more. v

Al

natted4

As much as I can't stand my job, the US Navy has made Bicycle commuting very easy. When asked to put in a bike rack out front of our workplace the command responded by having one installed w/in 2 days. With guaranteed shower facilities, locker storage and laundry facilities the Navy is makes it as easy as possible to bike commute. Now if only the rest of the job didn't make my skin crawl.

WorldWind

Singapore

Phatman

my job this past summer was good, I was a lifeguard. there was a lockable closet that I could keep my bike in, and I could just jump in the pool after I got to work. It didn't really matter a whole lot how wet I was...cause I worked at a pool! I didn't really like the actual job very much, though.

Daily Commute

Perhaps we should put away our daggers. According to this article, Intel provides darned-good bike facilities. Here's a quote:

PainTrain

Our company contracts with the military; I've visited installations all over the country. The Navy always has been easiest for me to deal with.

A request for access to a comm closet I made to a Senior Chief at Naval Station Everett was granted on his word immediately.

The same request made at an Army base took two days.

firecoast

My firehouse is great for commuting, even if I'm the only one who takes advantage of it. Since we work 24 hour shifts, we have lockers, showers and laundry facilities. I have numerous places to store my bike.

CitiZen

I'm the only worker who rides in of our small office of 18 people. I bring the bike in with me...I dislike asking "permission" from fellow adults. We have no shower facility here, but the five-mile ride isn't enough to work up a sweat.

westman2003

I work at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Calgary Alberta.

In the parkade there is a locked section that only bike commuters can use. Basically there is a combination to enter the area. Then you place an additional lock on your bike to lock it to the bike rack. As well security monitors it with a camera so it is pretty secure.

However, I bring mine in my cube. One of our managers takes hers in her office. No one has ever given me flak and I've been encouraged to bring it inside the building by management.

For showers there is a gym on campus that opens at 6am but I usually wash up and change in a nearby locked bathroom to save time.

mtnmunch

It's great to read everyone's stories of bike friendly employers. Mine is located directly off the exit of an Interstate. We do not have showers, lockers, bike storage and we have 300 employees. You'd think we would.

I've looked into biking to work several times, between the unfriendly roads, and the intersections near my work, where I have been almost killed in my car several times.

I think I'll just be looking for a new job, I'm not that in love with my current one. They're not the most environmentally friendly company either, so my values haven't mixed since day one. But at the time it was the only employment available, time to start looking :-)

Btw - are there any listings of bike friendly, or health friendly employers? I know they always put out the parent friendly ones.

super-douper

man, after a 5 mile ride I get sweaty like an ice cold beer in a tv commercial.

my work is pretty good. I bring my bike into my office. Even though the hallways are narrow, nobody seems to mind me walking my bike down the hall. There's showers and such but since I only ride 1.5 miles there's no need for me to shower. There's another site that's 6 miles away, sometimes I work there. They have showers and nice bike racks and such also. I'm pretty happy with my company. I wouldn't say they're "bike friendly" just "bike tollerable". To be bike friendly I think they could install bike lockers or offer some sort of monetary incentive to bike; like maybe buy me a team performance membership or something.

HiYoSilver

Sun Micro is commute friendly:

1. bike lockers. 12 by our building and only about 4 are used.
2. tolerate bikes in building
3. showers and lockers
4. a bike to work day each year
5. biking email aliases

Primary focus though is working at home and not having to commute at all.

Huff

CommuterKat

My company is extremely bike friendly. Bikes can be kept in a stairwell only accessable to employees, showers, lockers, and a kitchen where I can whip up some breakfast once I get in. We also have a guaranteed ride home plan that gives you and your bike a free taxi ride home in an emergency if you came into work using "alternative" transportation. (bike, carpool, bus, etc)

520commuter

My workplace is good for bike commuting. There is only 5 of us in the office, so it makes for a very informal setting. Jeans and T-shirt are generally fine, still no shorts though. I park my bike right next to my desk. No shower, but there is a YMCA a block a way I walk to in the summer after I get to work.

BenyBen

After some fighting last year, we managed to get them to install a very cheap bike rack, in one of the parking spots (to the dismay of many joe motorheads). I asked a couple of times for a shower, but apparently, they don't have the space (lies) and the money (more lies) to put a shower up. Most ppl give me weird looks when I get in red faced from the ride... Bikes inside the building are somewhat tolerated, as long as it isn't raining on that day.

Not the most bike friendly place. After 2 years of commuting, I will be looking for a job with bike friendly environment next time I look for work.

GeezerGeek

My company is very tolerant so unless you do something really bad nobody says anything. The first year I commuted I just parked the bike in a hallway and nobody cared. This summer there were 7 people from the office commuting in good weather but nobody in the shop commutes. Some people leave their bikes outside locked to various structures while others bring them in and leave them in scattered rooms and offices. The funny thing is that the company has a bike rack but nobody uses it. Oh, we have showers too and the company has made the Forbes list of best places to work more than once.