Work just started a program that will pay us 10 cents every mile we put on a bike. Doesn't matter what the intention is. Recreational, commuting, touring.... you name it, we get paid. Pretty stoked on this, I made $15 on my weekend and hoping for more on the next one!

It basically works on the "trust program." They just trust us that we're putting these miles on a bike and if it's abused, then they'll take it away.

Unfortunately my commute is 3 miles combined so that's obviously not going to be my money maker. I'll start taking the "long way home" until the sun stays out till 8-9 pm. Then I can rack up 20-30 miles after work!

Bets on doing the most mileage per month is already under way too

i wish my job did this...
Thats really rad actually.
I might recommend this.

show them your cyclocomputer results.

That sounds like about $300 a year for me. I wish I could sign up.
What a lucky dog.

HA! I can prove every mile I do on a bike with my Garmin 705! It's an honesty issue more than anything, and all my coworkers are pretty honest cats. Not worried about it.

wow I get 650 bucks.

Way cool!

wow, that's sweet...

Wow that is a nice deal... too bad it doesn't extend to everyone... can you imagine what kind of incentive that could be to cycling.

I don't even need it in cash, I'd take it as a tax break like the one for work related mileage in cars.

It will pay off for them if people actually do it. If they invest $.10 a mile in their employees and this influences their employees to ride more, think of how much savings will come in their health insurance premiums and claims when fewer of their employees are overweight with chronic sedentary diseases. Sounds like a smart program.

That's awesome. I wonder what the costs are for your employer. I wonder if they make it back in some kind of health insurance break.

Those reductions in group health insurance and improvements in the overall employees' weight and chronic health sound more like the making of a nice Urban Legend. Any evidence of any employer, anywhere, ever getting a group health insurance break because of a company sponsored bicycling specific program? Or even any evidence that such a bicycling specific program has ever had any significant effect on improving the participating employees' weight or health?

I would assume that the healthy employees who currently bicycle will continue to do so and be happier with a few more coins in their pockets. Effect on the rest of the employees' health and weight would be minimal at best (especially for those employees with chronic sedentary diseases.)

Sounds like a potential liability issue for the employer, unfortunately. Did they have you sign a release?

Actually, a lot of insurance companies are offering employers discounts on insurance premiums if they enroll their employees in all sorts of wellness and exercise programs, the more employees that enroll, the larger the discount. And $.10 a mile isn't that much, it will probably cost the company a negligible amount, but even a small percentage decrease in insurance premiums for successfully showing employees participation in an exercise program, that will save them a nice little chuck with their insurers. It is actually a pretty common arrangement.

Wellness and exercise programs can qualify a company for a discount, yes that's true. And this program may allow the company to check the appropriate block on a form that asks if the company is doing "something," without requiring any evidence that any employer sponsored bicycling program has shown any actual measurable significant effect on its employee group's weight or health. Especially if they don't require any large percentage of the employees to participate or make any change in their current habits.

But if the insurance companies are satisfied with a paperwork drill without any evidence of positive results, who am I to argue?

Seems they would get more bang for the buck sponsoring a smoking cessation program or Take Off Pounds Sensibly (TOPS) program.

One of the large printers that my wife does business with offers discounts to their employee's on the amount they contribute to their health insurance costs. I don't have the exact details, but basically if you take, and pass, certain health screenings you pay less. Clearly an incentive to keep yourself healthy. Win, win I'd say.

See? This is why we cant have nice things! Everybody thank f4rrest!

THANKS f4rrest!

Where can I send my resume?

Eh, you don't want my paycheck.

My work wouldn't ever do this. One of the owners is a tri-guy.

Insurance companies are all about process, it should go without saying.

Seems? You mean you don't have evidence of their effectiveness? Oh the horror.

I wonder if miles ridden on a trainer count.

(edit to add- I only ride outdoors anyway, but I'm just curious.)

Nope. It was specified trainer miles don't count. Understandable.

This is indirect evidence at best, but our company has historically informally promoted physical activity. All bathrooms have showers and lockers, there are basketball hoops in the parking lots, we have pickup basketball games and a "Gus Hacker" (we're programmers) tourney in the spring, there are incentive programs for logging X hours a month of exercise, there are groups who run, and we have a pretty nice exercise room with machines and free weights.

We were purchased by an international company which has major operations in Manhattan and other large cities, and people who have visited the other sites say that the average employee there looks a lot larger and less healthy than here.

Then a few years back we were forced into the same health care program and group as the rest of the business units. Our costs spiked up significantly. Officially this was done in the name of normalizing everyone's care and simplifying paperwork, but unofficially, several officers admitted that we were being forced into their groups because our employees were on the average way healthier than their sedentary life forms, and the others saw their health care costs go down for a year or two as a result. So we got paid for being healthy by having to subsidize those who are not.