Bicycling to Work at Quality Bicycle Products: A Case Example for Active Transportation in the Business and Industry Sector

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gaikowski J ; Pronk N ; Simon BC
• Description:
  Company records were reviewed to identify the number of employees who bicycled to work and the overall amounts of incentive paid out during the past 5 years. Figure 2 presents the absolute increase in the number of employees bicycling to work between 2009 and 2013. The relative participation increased less because of the total number of employees increasing from 425 to 623 during those same years. The average annual percentage of commuters during these 5 years was 57.6%. Employees received a financial payment for the days they commuted by bicycle, which meant that QBP paid a total sum to bicycle commuters that ranged from almost $37,000 in 2009 to as high as $51,000 in 2012. As a result, it is reasonable to conclude that the program was successful from the beginning and continued to grow within the context of the overall workplace health program. In addition, based on a review of QBP's Human Resources Department records, the company reported an overall reduction of health care premiums of 4.4% between 2007 and 2011. This is in stark contrast to the average increase of 24.6% in per member per month costs for companies across the country during this same period. It seems that this program focused on bicycling to work, within a company that builds bicycles and bicycle parts, has been able to leverage intrinsic motivations and interests of its employees. The program is designed to fit within the existing culture of the company; aligns closely with its mission, products, and services; and enjoys leadership support and visibility. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Health Promotion Occupational Health Safety Transportation Workplace
• Keywords:
  Bicycles Health Promotion Total Worker Health TWH Worker Health Work Organization Workplace Studies
• ISSN:
  1091-5397
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; Minnesota ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  49-52
• Volume:
  18
• Issue:
  5
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20061437
• Citation:
  ACSMs Health Fit J 2015 Sep/Oct; 18(5):49-52
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20070901
• Source Full Name:
  ACSM's Health & Fitness Journal
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4b1c86943fd292fb0b004585c74bc2f72f999a79dfd77238b195cb91d6a11b1b2ec4a730fe5c4e28df55d7de8177420cc4f476418a2481877576d19d9a781580
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/224969/cdc_224969_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 369.95 KB ]