Wheel of fortune
Although only 18% of the ‘Travel to Work’ survey respondents used a bike as their main method of getting to work, cycling continues to grow in popularity year on year, with more people keen to commute by bike once they return to the workplace. And why not? It’s a quick way to cover distance (especially on an e-bike!), it’s healthy and the impact to the environment is minimal compared to other forms of transport.
To encourage more employees to commute by bike, implementing a Cycle to Work scheme is a great and easy way in which businesses can support their employees to make greener transport choices and can be used for push/manual bikes and e-bikes.
Through the scheme, employers can loan employees the money to buy a bike, which the employee then pays back through their salary (salary sacrifice). Alternatively, businesses could choose to buy a fleet of bikes that can be loaned to employees for work-related business through a Pooled Scheme. Whether you choose to loan a bike through the Cycle to Work scheme, or purchase a bike or a fleet of bikes through a Pooled Scheme, both are tax free as long as the bikes are primarily used for work.
Further information about the Cycle to Work scheme can be found on the government’s website and here in Bristol, Eco Move, who specialise in e-bikes, can support the process with their partner, Green Commute Initiative.
