CTC expands Workplace Challenge programme to get more people riding to work

Following the success of the CTC's Workplace Cycle Challenges in Swindon, Colchester, Darlington, Somerset, Woking and Wolverhampton, the CTC has announced that it will be expanding this behavioural change programme to even more areas.

As the Government this week announces its Cycle to Work Guarantee, CTC will be utilising its cycle commuting expertise to work with the Department of Health to deliver £500,000 of workplace challenges to five new locations in the South East of England.

CTC will be working closely with local Primary Care Trusts and councils to reach the health and environmental goals of getting even more people cycling to work, regardless of what facilities their employers have.

To date almost 4000 people have taken part in a CTC workplace cycle challenge and the results speak for themselves: 84 per cent of non-cyclists intend to cycle more after taking part in the challenge. Half of the participants cycled to work, with many opting for the first time to take a short cycle ride instead of driving. In total 191,498 miles were cycled saving 25955kg of CO2 emissions.

CTC Cycling Development Officer Ian Richardson said: “The data is consistent across all the locations, proving the challenge is a winning formula to get people back on bikes. It shows the challenge is the first step for many people towards changing the way they travel.

“It offers encouragement and support to make a short journey by bike to work and gives people the opportunity to get back on a bike again for the first time in years.”

Debbie Smith, who took part in the Swindon Workplace Challenge, commented: “Having got back on my bike again, I really enjoyed it, so will definitely be making shorter trips by bike instead of taking the car from now on.”

So far more than 700 people who have never ridden a bike or who have not cycled in over a year have taken up the challenge and if they all continue to cycle regularly they would generate benefits of around £8million through reduced pollution and health costs.

The programme is a highly effective and unique way to help current cyclists to encourage their colleagues to take up cycling. It pits organisations and individual departments against each other to see who can get the most staff to cycle for at least 10 minutes during the two or three week challenge.

It’s a programme designed for any size business or organisation and it works by bringing cycling to the office and rewards participants with incentives.