Be an Example
- Leave your helmet on your desk or somewhere else prominent in your workplace.
- Post bike route maps near your desk or in another prominent place.
- Convey the spirit that commuting by bike is contagious.
- Convince your chief executive officer and/or board members to bike to work, and then recognize them publicly.
- Attend public bicycle related events such as Bike to Work Day.
Offer Encouragement
- Talk about how you enjoy bicycling.
- Host a commuter breakfast.
- Have a trial commute with colleagues in your area.
- Provide expertise:
- Lead lunchtime warm-up rides.
- Coordinate a “bike buddy” system where novices are paired up with experienced commuters in your office.
- Post a bicycle maintenance Q & A regularly in your company newsletter or email.
Get the Word Out
- Put up posters in the parking garage, in the rest rooms, and on bulletin boards.
- Set up an information table in the lobby.
- Document bike commuters and create peer pressure:
- Write up a commuter profile for your company newsletter.
- Tally up bike commuters participating in Bike to Work Week events.
- Take a group photo of the bike commuters in your office.
- Create a cafeteria display.
- Display a tasteful sign outside your building or in your lobby showing your participation in and support for Bike Month.
- Invite speakers to teach bicycle commuting.
- Hold a bike commuting fair.
- Spread the word through:
- inter-office memos
- company newsletters
- company gossip channels
- association newsletters or communications channels
- electronic bulletin boards or networks
- inserts in company paychecks
Eliminate Barriers
- Keep a set of bike tools, extra tubes, and a patch kit in the office for employees to use.
- Arrange for parking for employees and cycling clients.
- Arrange for showers for bike commuting employees.
- Promote safety.
- Host a workshop on basic bike repair during lunch.
Create Incentives
- Arrange for massages for bike commuters.
- Arrange discounts on the purchase of bicycles, parts, and service with a local bike shop.
- Design and distribute a company bike commuter t-shirt.
- Reimburse employees for work-related trips made by bike at the same rate as other vehicles.
- Award prizes or rewards for biking to work during Bike to Work Week and beyond:
- extra time off
- tickets to an opera or a ball game
- a trophy
- free use of company fitness club
- raffle off a cycling vacation
- Arrange a competition among the different departments in your workplace to see who can log the most bike miles during the week.
Make It Last
- Organize a bike commuter committee at your workplace.
- Keep your “bike buddy” system active year round.
- Host bike-related workshops year round to help keep everybody riding.
- Go on rides together.
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