Policies and Engagement
Join a Bike Share Program
What Is It?
Bike share programs such as Hubway in Boston allow users to pick up and drop off a bike at any share station around the city. This allows residents who don’t own bikes to enjoy cycling to work or around the city, and allows commuters coming from outside city limits to take another form of transportation into the city and then use a bike for the final leg of their journey.
Joining a bike share as a company and subsidizing employee memberships is an easy way to encourage employees to bike to work.
Benefits
By providing a readily accessible alternative to driving, bike sharing programs can reduce both the number of vehicle miles traveled and cars on the road. This decreases traffic congestion, carbon emissions, and other pollutants by eliminating unnecessary automobile travel for short trips. Employee benefits include convenience, fast travel, physical health, higher concentration and an increased sense of community.
Financing Options, Incentives, and Rebates
For Hubway, the company pays for each employee that signs up and the company can choose to subsidize the annual membership for $12.50 (Bronze), $25 (Silver), $50 (Gold) and $50 + usage fees (Platinum). The employee has to use their own credit card to pay the remaining membership fee and for damage liability. They then get their own, personal key fob.
NEWS
- “How companies take the headache out of commuting,” The Boston Globe, November 17, 2016
- “Public-private funding for Hubway paying off” Boston Globe, April 7, 2014
- “How Biking Improves Employee Productivity” Triple Pundit, August 20, 2013
