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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
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