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Park Car, Hop on Bike for Best Way to Commute

Posted on: Wednesday, 8 December 2004, 03:00 CST

Q: Can I save money by commuting to work by bicycle?

A: Yes. What's more, health and transportation experts say biking to work also can be an excellent way to get exercise and lose weight. In fact, more employers around the country are offering facilities and incentives to encourage employees to come to work on their bikes.

Sure, getting a new bike can cost a few hundred dollars, not to mention a helmet and, especially if you live in a high-theft urban area such as New York, a heavy-duty lock that can cost more than $50. But if you balance those costs against, say, $100 a month in transit fees, or gasoline and parking costs for a car, it might only take a few months to recoup your investment.

Some people even consider their bike commute as their primary form of exercise, giving them a reason to cancel an expensive health club membership, yet another form of savings.

Andy Clarke, the head of the League of American Bicyclists, said there have been moves in Congress to extend tax benefits currently available to mass-transit users to bicyclists as well.

Mr. Clarke notes that in addition to national "Bike to Work" week every May, more cities, employers and other organizations are making programs to encourage people to bike to work, such as providing showers and bike racks at the workplace.

Kevin Shannon, the executive director of the Association for Commuter Transportation, a national nonprofit group that promotes alternatives to solo commuting, said promoting bike-to-work programs and other commuting choices is becoming a competitive edge for some employers as a way to attract and retain workers, in addition to increasing productivity by keeping them active and healthy.

"Employers are increasingly seeing a need to be flexible," Mr. Shannon said. "Providing things like bicycle racks, showers, and vanpool or carpool opportunities are increasingly seen as essential offerings for employers, especially in urban areas."

With the current focus on obesity, finding another way to allow employees to get regular amounts of moderate exercise is becoming a hot topic in human resource departments, Mr. Shannon said.

Mr. Clarke concurs: "One of the reasons people are not getting the workout they need is that they think it has to be something different from their regular agenda."

Bike-to-work programs already are going strong in cycle-friendly places such as Portland, Ore.; Boulder, Colo., Seattle, and in Davis, Calif., home of one of the branches of the University of California. In recent years they've also been appearing in Houston, Minneapolis and Atlanta.

The increased focus on health and weight loss has been a major factor. Two years ago, the University of North Carolina's School of Public Health in Chapel Hill opened a program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to promote active lifestyles in ways that include biking to work.

Spokesman Mark Dessauer said the group, called Active Living by Design, has funded 25 community programs to encourage alternative commutes in ways that include bicycling to work.

The group's mission statement said three out of four U.S. adults do not get the recommended minimum amount of physical activity - at least 30 minutes, five times a week - and that obesity costs the country overall about $117 billion a year.

Source: Augusta Chronicle, The

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