baj32161

The one I work for does not. It is sad

Az B

Yes. But then again, we sell bicycles.

Az

bhtooefr

Not really, although there'll end up being at least three bike commuters - myself (on my Schwinn 10-spd, and eventually a MTB that I'll end up getting for winter,) the art teacher (on an MTB, but he won't commute into winter,) and a maintenance person (who got caught driving under suspension.)

feethanddooth

no

Cyclist0383

Where I work there is dedicated bicycle parking with pass restricted access and an armed guard. The HR woman once suggested that I cycle to work. I told her I already did.

JustBrowsing

Yes. My company has about a dozen of those standard long bike racks (similar to this) on the first level of a guarded parking garage. There are generally well over 100 or so bikes down there (the racks get pretty full). A lot of people don't even bother locking up, which actually doesn't seem to be a problem. There are also showers available. Easily the most bike-friendly place I've ever worked. Actually, it's the most plain-old friendly place I've ever worked, too.

1ply

Sure. As long as it doesn't cost them anything they promote all kinds of things

During the summer months I've counted as many as 12-13 bikes out on the racks. I imagine that most of the bikes won't be there in October due to cold. Also, most people don't know about my closet er changeroom.

What they did - to save money was to put a "change room" sign on a closet which holds paper towels and toilet paper. They also added a $1 sliding lock. Guess it beats changing in the middle of the washroom floor, but most don't know about it so if they have a longer ride and feel they need to change, they just won't ride in at all.

climbhoser

I work for a large insurance company and out of the hundreds of employees in OUR building I see maybe 1-3 other bikes on the rack depending on the day. I think I am the only dedicated commuter and the others just use it for occasional exercise.

The company's mostly concerned with sales of our products, so they could care less about a sustainable relationship with the environment, getting cars off the road (most dream of Mercedes or BMW), etc...

Sad.

al-wagner

The company I work for doesn't promote it but they do NOT discourage it. I am the only one who rides daily and a couple more who ride once in a while. We are allowed to park our bikes inside next to our work area if we want and have lockers,shower, and place to hang my wet clothes to dry.

There are some employees who don't think it is right that we can bring our bikes in side but these same people would have problem no matter where the bikes were parked.

Oh we have about 125-150 employees and I live in Vermont which is suppose to an environment friendly state,,

mandovoodoo

Yes. Sponsored a Livestrong Challenge ride this year. All employees ride. Core staff meet early as much as possible and do a 20 to 35 mile ride before work. Bikes allowed inside. Considering sponsoring more explicitly next year, providing jerseys for riders, supporting racing, as well as continued support of fundraising.

MrCjolsen

I really want to know their reasons for feeling this way. Do tell.

al-wagner

They are just, well as we call them "DUMB ASSES"

chephy

The company I work for consists of exactly one person - me - and promotes bike commuting zealously and fanatically.

Cool. Didn't know Riga was this progressive.

chephy

And why won't you tell them (a sign attached to the bike rack should do the trick). Don't want to deal with lines to the "changeroom"?

zephyr

Good thread topic....I work for a large company in suburban orange county, ca. We have about 600+ people that work at our main building. All the main streets in this area have bike lanes or safe shoulders to ride, and car parking along curbs of main streets is prohibited (cuts down on getting "doored" by cars). Weather is comfortable to ride in almost every day. No heavy car traffic to deal with, traffic signals generally can be triggered by a bike that hits the middle of the sensor wires in the street. At our office building, there are bike racks and fully enclosed bike lockers (these things are great). About 20 steps away is the back door into the building with restrooms that have a locker room area and shower area. They provide clean towel service, so no need to carry around towels. I can leave a few essentials in one of the lockers so I don't have to haul everything with me everyday. This is pretty near the perfect set up for bike commuters, and I have been taking advantage of all this for the past 7+ years. The amazing thing is that out of the 600+ people that work at the building, there are only three or four other daily bike commuters, and one or two who commute 1 to 3 days per week. Proves that it's hard to pry people out of their four wheelers, especially in car crazed southern cal.

Shavit

what does one expect from a company that promotes commuting by bike? (just curious)

quote from Ziemas:
"Where I work there is dedicated bicycle parking with pass restricted access and an armed guard."

good lord that must be nice.

TrackGuy

Not any more During one of the Business Effectiveness Surveys, the bikers won indoor racks on the loading dock and the use of the showers in the gym without a gym membership. We're in the midst of moving to a new location, there is one city supplied rack in the alley behind the new building and they're building a whopping two showers. If you need the shower, you need to find the person with the key, not ulike using the rest room at a gas station. The people being shipped over to Jersey City have it even worse, we have to leave our bikes in New York and clean up in the handicapped stall of the restroom.

Why is it so difficult to get decent parking?

MrCjolsen

Well, to start I'd have to say the same level of respect given to people who drive. Acknowlegement that the people who ride their bikes free up parking spaces for those who drive, both employees and customers. Also accepting the fact that if fewer employees drove to work, then valuable real estate that's otherwise used for parking might become available for profit-making purposes.

A secure, covered area for bike parking or a policy that allows people to bring their bikes inside would also be at the top of this list. How many companies hire a security guard to patrol the parking lot but then relegate bikes to a back alley behind the building where they are vulnerable to theft and the elements?

A bike commuter who is late on the job due to a flat or the need to dry out after a very wet ride should be given the same consideration as an employee who is late due to traffic or car trouble.

Though I don't think showers at work are really necessary (human stink generally comes from poor hygine, not physical activity), it would be nice to have a secure place to keep clothing overnight, especially if it's a job where a person has to look nice and wear more expensive clothes. And having a place in the staff restroom where one could keep some deoderant, Febreeze, and maybe some hair care products would be cool. Finally, if a restroom is where an employee must change, then small chair or table would be nice so that he or she doesn't have to put clean work clothes on top of the toilet or restroom floor while changing.

I consider these to be minimums that should be granted on request. Most of them are little or no cost, compared to the cost of employee parking, and any employer is a total heel to not do these things if asked.

gew0419

They give the smokers a place to smoke and the motorcycles a place to park, but I'm on my own.

evblazer

I park in the smoking section but got told by security I couldn't park near the building. So I have to park on the far side of the smoking section next to a few garbage cans.. Nice!!
And cleanup and change in a handicap stall of course.
We are moving through. I was told I'm required to park in underground parking in a corner locked up to a pipe but they will have a gym I'll have to pay $50 a month to take a shower from. Don't know if it'll be worth it though because the ramp is a continuous blind turn up out of the lot and they have those don't backup spikes on the ground at the gate I have to stop at mid way up and down. That should be a whole lotta fun. I'm have an outstanding letter to the VP of Security and Real Estate. They can't really want me to get run over at work could they?

dave.lloyd

My employer encourages it somewhat. The nixed the shower due to cost concerns at our new building (it's a small tech startup), but they did put in a bike rack. Of course, nobody uses the bike rack, we just park our bikes indoors in an area by the vending machines. At any one time, there's between one to five bike commuters in an office of about 40ish.

I did get my manager to start biking to work more. He even went out and bought a pair of Axiom panniers so he could ditch the backpack and not worry about his stuff getting drenched in the rain.

ShinyBiker

Yes. We get a subsidy to take the mass transit/subway. It is a check for $53/month.

Since I bike, i keep the $53

We are a tenant in a building which has those squiqqly bike racks in the basement parking lot. I park my bike there at no charge.

There is 1 shower stall for the custodial staff in our bldg. Depending on how hot it is, I'll use it in the morning. I've never seen janitors use it, but on nice days, employees from other offices use it after lunchtime runs.

bmike

before i started working from my home office the company had installed a shower and we had ample covered bike parking. of course we also purchased all our power from a wind program, brew our own biodeisel for fork lifts and company trucks, and heat with our waste, so we're out there in left field when it comes to corporate culture.

there were still only 4 regular bike commuters though. i think that number is down to 2 now that i'm working mobile. there's still alot of driving - and if i remember correctly the company was giving out $500 gas cards to folks who upgraded their commuting vehicles to get a 33% increase in published mpg. this moved quite a few suvs out of the lot and brought in a few hybrids and some older VW diesels. would have been nice to give something to encourage cycling - but the place was in no man's land of exrural sprawl near the thruway.

Brian T

Holy C#$!! thats great, the only bonus i get it to see by bike parked outside my window. I guess thats pretty good though, considering theft.

pleen

I work for Boise State University, and they do almost everything in their power to make it possible for us to commute by bike, and to promote it. Bike racks are plentiful and near the buildings. We even have electronically secured indoor bike storage on our campus for a mere $10.00 per semester. This includes a locker rental and access to shower facilities. The University is located right off the very popular MUP that runs across much of the east end of our valley, and is the nexus of quite a few roads which feature bike paths. They love for us to ride bikes.