Ride2Work Day & Relaunching Staff E-bikes

Although we weren't quite ready for Ride2Work Day on the 18th, we managed to squeeze it in during Bike Month on Tuesday 31 October - better late than never! Staff were encouraged to cycle to work in the lead up to the day, with details on where they could park provided and benefits like saving money and looking after your health highlighted. Staff who rode to work were eligible for a voucher to the coffee van on visiting the Ride2Work pop-up outside the staff lunch room from 10am-11am. We activated the space by adding a pop of colour, offering some tasty treats, playing some active travel themed music (songs about bikes, walking, running...!) and giving out City branded water bottles and coffee cups.

A big draw card to come to the Ride2Work pop-up was the staff e-bikes! The City has owned 2 staff e-bikes for some time, however they had been put away in storage, as sadly up to 3 bikes and 2 e-bikes were stolen over time when kept in the City's staff garage overnight. Discussions were had about safely storing the e-bikes in the Civic Centre foyer, where they would be more secure and in a high traffic / manned area, as well as having them on display as an education piece. So we decided to relaunch the staff e-bikes in preparation! After a bit of maintenance, buying some adjustable seat levers, and setting up a booking system, the e-bikes were ready for the launch. We were pleasantly surprised that lots of people came out to give them a test ride and ask questions. We were having too much fun riding the e-bikes that we forgot to take photos of all the action! Most staff weren't aware that the City had e-bikes and thought it was a great idea to have them available, considering many of the City facilities are within close distance of each other and traffic / parking could be a hassle.

Lastly, we took the opportunity to do the Your Move Travel Survey with staff who came along, ending up with 20 people doing the survey on the day. On completing the survey, many staff commented that they felt guilty as they drove their car to work most days. Perhaps just this small prompt will encourage people to consider other options! Details of the survey coming in the next story.

Even a family of swans came along!