Businesses play a key role in getting more of their employees out of their cars and onto their bicycles, one local transportation official said at Tuesday’s Bike to Work kick-off event.
SANDAG and its partners offered complimentary bike maintenance checks, safety tips and free snacks as a way of promoting Bike to Work Day on May 20. Cyclists who register in advance can use one of the more than 100 pit stops to pick up freebies and snacks this Friday. See the map here.
Qualcomm not only hosts a subsidy program for its employees who commute by bike but also supports the annual event by hosting a pit stop.
Elizabeth Best works with Qualcomm’s Sustainability team said the company sees a benefit in promoting healthy behaviors among their staff.
Just recently, they've launched a "CO2 and You" to help employees reduce their carbon footprint.
“We actually have signs next to our elevators right now encouraging employees to take the stairs,” she said.
A workplace gym or dry cleaning services at the office can help improve the chances that an employee may park their car and hop on their bike to get to work, Carlsbad’s Transportation Manager Craig Williams said.
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“Sometimes you consider driving because you don’t have other options to do the errands that you need to do in the morning or at noon,” Williams said.
When a company offers amenities people need, that can make it more attractive to bike to work, he added.
There are 1340 miles of bikeways in the San Diego Regional Bike Plan, SANDAG officials said. In 2013, SANDAG committed $200 million to add 77 miles of new bikeways within a decade.
“Go by Bike” project teams will be out in four areas to answer questions about how the agency is developing bikeways in San Diego.
Get more information on SANDAG's Bike to Work Day here.
