Article

Employers guarantee facilities for cyclists

News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 27 October 2009

EMBARGO: 0001 HRS WEDNESDAY 28 OCTOBER 2009

More than 70 major public and private sector employers are today pledging to implement a new “cycle to work” guarantee in a bid to transform the numbers cycling to work.

By signing up to the new ‘Cycle to Work Guarantee’, public and private sector employers are committing to provide their staff with safe bike storage, changing facilities and access to the Government’s generous tax break scheme - 'Cycle to Work' - for new bikes and cycling equipment. Evidence from employers already providing such support for their staff shows that it dramatically increases the proportion who cycle to work.

The Cycle to Work Guarantee is being promoted by Government and employers together to offer employees a healthy and green option to get to and from work. Typically, a third or more of staff of large urban employers live within half an hour bike ride of their place of work, but only about 3 per cent currently cycle to work.

Most central Government Departments have signed up as well as major companies including BSkyB, EON and GSK. Dozens of local authorities and hospitals have also agreed to commit to the Guarantee, which is aimed at large employers. Other large employers will now be invited to follow suit.

Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis said:

“If proper facilities were more widely available, I believe far more people would cycle to work. At present only 3 per cent do so. We could double or treble that figure with proper bike storage and changing facilities and safe cycle routes - and that’s my aim.”

“For employees, cycling is a great way to save money while getting fit. And for all of us, it will cut rush hour congestion and reduce carbon emissions.

"We've seen that this approach can work. The number of GlaxoSmithKline employees cycling to work has tripled since they introduced the right facilities at their headquarters. I see no reason why the Cycle to Work Guarantee can't spread this success widely."

Employers who sign up to the Guarantee commit to provide the following:

• Secure, safe, and accessible bike parking facilities for all staff who want them

• Good quality changing and locker facilities for all staff who want them

• Offsetting the cost of cycling equipment for staff and saving on tax through the ‘Cycle to Work scheme’

• Bike repair for cyclists on or near site

• Training, reward and incentive programmes to achieve targets for more cycling

Secretary of State for Health, Andy Burnham said:

“Getting on your bike for the journey to work is a great way to get fit and healthy.

“But we can’t expect people to cycle to work if they can’t have a shower or store their bike safely when they get there - that’s why we need a Cycle to Work Guarantee from employers. Lots of NHS organisations have already signed up and are helping their staff cycle their way to better health. I’m pleased they are leading by example and I hope it will become standard practice across the NHS.

“The Cycle to Work Guarantee supports Bike4Life which is part of our Change4Life campaign to get the nation eating well, moving more and living longer.”

Ben Bradshaw, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport said;

“Cycling is booming. We had unprecedented success on the track and the road in Beijing, the numbers taking up cycling as a sport are increasing, and more and more schools are offering it as one of their options for PE.

"Now we hope the Cycle to Work Guarantee – and the support this important initiative is getting from public and private sector employers - will spur on more people to use a bike to get to and from work, with all the benefits that can bring in health, fitness and to the environment.”

Communities Secretary John Denham said:
"Councils, as local leaders, major employers and climate change champions, have a real responsibility to encourage residents and staff to cycle to work.

"Many people want to leave the car in the driveway and pedal in for a healthier, greener commute so it’s important that councils provide facilities and encourage businesses to sign up to this guarantee."

The ‘Cycle to Work Guarantee’ is the latest in a series of initiatives to improve cycling facilities, capitalising on the fact that nearly half of all people in Britain over the age of 11 own a bike and two in five of all journeys are under two miles.

CBI Director General, Richard Lambert:

“This is a welcome initiative. An estimated one in two journeys cover less than five miles so there is huge opportunity for increasing cycle use. This initiative shows how a number of small steps by employers can encourage employees to cycle to work.

"By reducing the strain on road networks and car-parking facilities, increased cycling benefits both individuals and the wider economy. Cycling also reduces carbon emissions and can be an important part of an employer’s corporate social responsibility objectives.”

Ian Drake, CEO of British Cycling said;

"We fully endorse the Cycle to Work Guarantee because it puts the onus on employers to support staff who commute to work by bicycle. Britain is already home to the most successful cyclists in the world thanks to the incredible performance of our athletes in the Beijing Olympics and our next challenge is to turn Britain into a true cycling nation.

"British Cycling has a vision to grow cycling as a sport, recreational activity and a sustainable means of transport by encouraging more people to get on their bikes in the build up to the London Olympics and this latest initiative will help achieve just that."

This announcement follows the launch last month of a major £14m package to transform facilities for cyclists at rail stations. This includes 'Cycle Hubs' at 10 major rail stations and10,000 extra cycle parking spaces at rail stations across the country. The new cycle hubs will include extra cycle storage facilities, repair services, hire schemes and improved cycle access to and from the stations.

This initiative also supports the Government's Change4Life campaign to support people to 'eat well, move more and live longer'. As part of this Bike4Life is helping people across the country get on their bikes, one way to make small changes that can bring short and long term benefits to health.

Notes to Editors

1. Further information for employers and employees on the Cycle to Work Guarantee can be found here www.cycletoworkguarantee.org.uk.

2. The Guarantee was launched at University College Hospital, part of University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH). The Trust’s Cycle to Work Scheme was launched in March 2009 by Channel 4 News anchorman and nearby resident Jon Snow. Since then more than 100 members of staff have signed up. The scheme is financed by UCLH Charity and has enabled staff to make savings in tax and national insurance contributions to reduce the cost of a new bike by up to 47 per cent of the retail value. Over the coming year UCLH is planning to improve secure cycle parking and shower and locker facilities at all of its sites. The Trust’s new cancer centre, set to open in 2012, will have outstanding facilities for people who cycle to work. Sue Parker, UCLH travel plan co-ordinator, said: “The Cycle to Work scheme at UCLH has been a massive success. Just by changing how we travel to work means we can achieve better levels of fitness.”

3. To promote healthier journeys to work and to reduce environmental pollution, the 1999 Finance Act introduced an annual tax exemption - The Cycle to Work Scheme - which allows employers to loan cycles and cyclists' safety equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit.

4. The Cycle to Work Guarantee is primarily aimed at large employers, the Transport Secretary Andrew Adonis has therefore written to businesses in the FTSE 250 and all local authorities today to encourage any organisation who have not yet signed up the Guarantee to consider doing so.

5. Statistics on the number of people and distances cycled can be found in the National Travel Survey (NTS), a household survey designed to provide a databank of personal travel information for Great Britain. http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/statistics/datatablespublications/personal/mainresults /nts2008/

6. The Bike4Life guide has tips and information to help people get out and about on their bikes and to help them feel safe on the road. You can download it from the Change4Life website: http://www.nhs.uk/change4life/Pages/PartnersC4Lbike4lifeToolkit.aspx

Press Enquires: 020 7944 3066 Out of Hours: 020 7944 4292 Public Enquiries: 0300 330 3000 Department for Transport Website: http://www.dft.gov.uk/

Contacts:

Local Transport
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