If you can do it, go for it! Biking to work has many benefits. Not only does it save you money from gas and car repairs; it also gives you a healthy workout during your daily commute, effectively taking care of two tasks at once. Who couldn’t use some extra time in their day?
Want to get more people to bike to work in your area? Here are some ideas.
Make it an office project. Accumulate points to win a prize, start a money pool for the person who rides the most days to win at the end of the month, hold a raffle where entrants get a ticket per each day they ride to work, etc. Make it part of an office fitness program and add in amount of weight loss for a “Biggest Loser” touch.
Ask for more bike parking spots at work. Do the same across town to get people to bike to more places.
Give out bike baskets, helmets, bike locks, and other gear for presents, office raffles, or office picnic prizes.
Use the buddy system. Pair up people who live near one another to bike together for safety and company.
Set up a bike scholarship. Collect funds for a peer who can’t afford a bike. Scout out cheap bikes at stores, garage sales, or other sales. See if your business will go in on it—or even purchase a bike a month—to either raffle off or give away to encourage people to ride bikes to work.
Lobby for incentives. Wouldn’t it be cool (and helpful) to get a tax break for using your bike rather than a polluting car? You could also ask for a protected bike lane, write a letter to the editor asking for consideration for bikers on the road, and ask the mayor to make bike riding a prominent issue for your area.
Can’t bike to work? That’s a common problem for many people who live in wide suburban or rural areas. In this case, try…
Biking to where you can go. Maybe work is too far, but perhaps the library or video store is close enough for a bike ride.
Biking part of the way. Perhaps you can bike to a parking lot where you can chain your bike, then ride public transportation to save cost and gas.
Carpooling. This will at least offset one vehicle, if not more, and together you and your carpoolers will save money. You might also make some new friends.
