Employers and Commuting

[dex]

I'm working with a company right now that has decent support for bike commuting (at least to its corporate headquarters). I think this is due in large part to two things:

1. Geography - To be a large company in the PNW and not support bike commuting is a pretty big PR misstep.
2. The CEO is a fairly active cyclist.

I'm not an employee, so I don't know the extent of the details (bus passes, etc.), but I do know that there are multiple large bike cages inside of the parking garage, with racks for *lots* of bikes in each, lockers for storage, and workbenches, stands and tools out for anyone to use (and always arranged neatly on the pegboards and in the drawers). There's a full gym inside of the building with locker rooms and showers, as well. (And more coffee than you can shake a stick at.) There are also bike racks in front of the building for shoppers (there are a couple of retail stores and food places in the building), messengers, and people who don't want to use the garage. (Great for if you just want to run in and grab some stuff to take home to work on.)

And they run a shuttle service along the main bus corridor to bring people over to the building, since it can be a hazardous/harrowing walk (including crossing several large sets of very active train tracks).

Parking a car is big pain here. There's a garage, but it has a huge waiting list (someone told me they were measuring the wait in years at this point). The alternatives are parking at an open air lot about a mile away, or finding a place to wedge your car along what are essentially alleys in a commercial/light industrial area. Ugh.

[GLC1968]

1. Geography - To be a large company in the PNW and not support bike commuting is a pretty big PR misstep.
2. The CEO is a fairly active cyclist.

And this applies to my company, too...which is why I'm extra annoyed at the lack of support. I was actually quite a bit put off by the clipped response I got when I asked about even discounted public transportation tickets/passes.

Today I filled out the employee opinion survey. I made sure to let them know that the lack of incentives offered for alternative transporation was a big 'negative' for me. I've also emailed every cyclist in the company that I know to ask them to say something similar in their survey!

[andtckrtoo]

Wow Eden! That's incredible! And I thought I had it good!

My company actually sponsors many cycling teams. Our corporate motiff is cycling. We do have jersey and shorts that any cyclist can request in both men's and women's. We have company rides every Thursday evening in the summer, lead by a professional cyclist who is hired by the company to give tips and tricks (and he has also repaired my bikes for me). I have an office so I can bring my bike right in with me, but even if I didn't there are plenty of places (and willing office holders) to park a bike. We are located in an old office building in a smaller town, so there is not a lot of random parking space to house bikes, but as I said, they are more than welcome inside.

Of course, I live but 2 miles from the office, so I'm just barely starting to think about sweating when I get here, but if I have to ride home over lunch to feed our poor diabetic doggie, then ride back when it's hot, I can get a little sweaty.

[pardes]

I NEVER would have thought a year ago before I started bike/bus commuting to work that the day would come when there were two bikes already on the bus and I'd have to wait for the next bus.

I missed a VERY important meeting at work and expected my manager to be inflamed. Instead he was just worried about my safety and was just getting ready to drive along my route to my house to make sure I was alright.

Then the director asked me to walk down to the 1st floor stairwell so I could give him a guided tour of my bike and accessories.

I was so touched that I drove to the Waterfront for lunch and brought them back a Jonas' Amish Pecan Pie.