Cycling to work

Why cycle?

• Saves money – no fuel, parking or vehicle maintenance costs.
• Saves time – often faster than travelling by car, especially in peak periods.
• Saves the stress – no parking hassles, unexpected road delays, or problems in heavy or unfamiliar traffic.
• Saves our environment – reducing greenhouse gases, carbon emissions and depletion of fossil fuels and other precious resources.
• Improves our health, strength, fitness and overall wellbeing through exercise.
• Improves our liveability through reduced road congestion and improved air quality.

What your business can do

• Conduct a travel choices survey to see how your staff travel.
• In partnership with staff, create travel action plans or transport information packs that incorporate cycling.
• Check what other businesses in your area are doing to encourage cycling.
• Promote cycling via staff inductions, trainings, emails and notice boards.
• Provide staff with maps and information about local cycle routes and information about how to incorporate cycling into their daily commute.
• Add or update travel information for customers on websites or promotional material to include options for cycling some or all of the way.
• Provide secure bike storage facilities.
• Provide shower, locker and change facilities.
• Offer incentives, competitions and social events around cycling to/at work.
• Consider providing bicycles in the workplace for small deliveries, attending meetings or for staff to run lunchtime errands.

Helping your business

Encouraging staff to take advantage of these improvements for travel to your business is great for them, our city and the environment, but it’s great for the future of your business too.

Benefits for your workforce

Canberra has the highest level of cycling compared to other cities in Australia. Cycling 30 minutes to and from work burns about 2510 kilojoules and increases fitness, which helps:

• control body weight, blood pressure and cholesterol
• increase energy, stamina, strength, flexibility, balance and coordination
• improve mental and cognitive function, alertness, mood, concentration, reaction times, memory and the capacity to cope with stress and anxiety
• improve quality of life, self-esteem and self-confidence.

Benefits for your business

Healthier employees mean:

• reduced absenteeism
• reduced risks of injuries and falls
• increased productivity
• a more positive working environment/atmosphere
• greater workplace connectivity/engagement.

This can then attract:

• new recruits – thanks to your business’ reputation as an employer of choice
• new customers – thanks to your enhanced corporate image as a positive, socially responsible and sustainable workplace.
• And the reduced road congestion means:
• better customer access and parking
• more efficient and cost-effective deliveries and receipt of goods
• better access to other services and facilities.

Benefits for our city and the environment

Healthy residents and businesses, efficient road systems and a healthy, more-liveable environment attract visitors, new residents and other businesses, which will keep the ACT moving forward.

What the ACT Government is doing

To help people rethink their mode of travel and make the switch to include cycling, the ACT Government is prioritising projects and initiatives that provide safe infrastructure for cycling and a better connected and maintained cycling network. This includes:

• improving off road paths and protected cycleways to make people feel safe on a bike, or walking the city’s streets to provide adequate separation of pedestrians and cyclists from motor vehicle traffic
• progressively converting on-road cycle lanes on priority routes to safe separated cycleways
• progressively upgrading busy shared paths to separate walking and cycling modes and improve capacity on high volume community paths
• encouraging uptake of cycling through the Canberra e-bike Library where members of the community can try different types of e-bikes before they make the decision to purchase, including cargo bikes and tricycles
• continuing to support the use of e-bikes and shared bike programs in workplaces
• improving accessibility for children, older Canberrans and others with reduced mobility
• designing new and redeveloped estates with active travel in mind
• raising London Circuit to enable people to walk and cycle between the city and the lake
• conducting regular community education campaigns focused on the safety of vulnerable road users.

For more information visit workplace travel.