Bicycling and walking FOR EMPLOYERS

Bike Parking

Bike commuters need a safe place to store their bike.  If your business is located in the City of Madison there are bike parking requirements.  If you’re not in the City of Madison these are still good guidelines to help you select and place a rack that will work well. If you have space inside your buidling that will be even more popular with employees so they do not have to worry about theft or arriving to a wet bike.

Start a Bicycle User's Group

A Bicycle User’s Group is employees with an interest in promoting bicycling to their co-workers and helping you determine what might be needed to make your business more bike friendly.  Starting a group can be relatively easy as all you need to do is find some interested bicyclists and have a short meeting.  From there discuss what activities the group wants to undertake such as holding a lunchtime talk, leading practice rides in the neighborhood or organizing a Bike to Work Week event.  Also ask their advice on priorities for improving cycling facilities at your company and even for facilities that would make it easier to commute to your business. 

Organize a Bike to Work Week Event

Every spring the Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin organizes Bike to Work Week.  This is a great time to join in the promotion of bicycling to your employees.  Do you have bike racks at your building?  If not, can your employees bring their bikes somewhere inside? If you have locker rooms let your employees know that. Leading up to bike to work week is there an avid bicyclists at your building who might offer tips on riding and route planning? The Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin in partnership with their sponsors host a number of refreshment stops around Madison during Bike to Work Week. If you’re not located near one you could always set up your own refreshment stop at your business.

Bikesharing and Bike Fleets

Bikesharing has come to Madison and businesses downtown or near UW-Madison probably have a B-cycle station near them.  Contact B-cycle to discuss how you can work with them to make B-cycle even more affordable for your employees. 

However, a company can also consider having a few bicycles available at their business for your employees to use.  The bikes can be a great way to get to a meeting close by or to pick up lunch. Reserving them can be as easy as adding them to your Outlook calendar and allowing people to reserve them the same way as a conference room.  The upfront investment would be a few bicycles, locks, helmets, regular maintenance and space to store the bikes. A bike with a basket will be the most useful so that employees can carry a few items with them.

Assistance with a Bicycle Friendly Business Application

The Bicycle Friendly Business program recognizes employers’ efforts to encourage a more bicycle friendly atmosphere for employees and customers. The program honors innovative bike-friendly efforts and provides technical assistance and information to help companies and organizations become even better for bicyclists.

If your business is interested in applying, contact RoundTrip for assistance with the application.

Employees who live a mile or closer to your business may find walking to be the easiest way to get around.  However, even employees who don’t walk to work may want to get out at lunchtime to walk for exercise, to get lunch, or to run errands. If you would like to have a map showing routes and their distances for walking options near your business, contact RoundTrip for assistance.

Consider having a regular walking group at lunch or after work or as part of a larger Worksite Wellness program.

Walking is easy to overlook as a transportation option but it shouldn’t be.  Did you know that although 41% of all trips made in the United States are one mile or less, fewer than 10% of all trips are made by walking and biking?  Yet because of the health benefits, the cost of walking is actually negative.  Brisk walking has been shown to reduce body fat, lower blood pressure, increase high-density lipoprotein, and even reduce risks of bone fracture.