May is Bike Month! Launching, Implementing, and Sustaining an Employee BikeShare Program

By Jeffery Rosenhall, MA and Sophia Mercado, California Department of Public Health, Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Branch

A BikeShare Program brings multiple benefits to government worksites with just one program: increased employee satisfaction, increased physical activity opportunities, savings from converted local trips and parking fees, and reduced greenhouse gas emissions. In a competitive, dynamic job market, a BikeShare Program adds a modern, employee-focused component to an employer’s worksite wellness efforts. A BikeShare Program is a relatively low-cost program consisting of any number of bicycles offered by an employer to employees at no charge to support employees traveling to meetings, completing errands, and engaging in physical activity.

Learning from existing program models, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) launched a successful employee BikeShare Program in 2014. A survey conducted of CDPH BikeShare user in 2016, revealed that 100 percent of registered users (n=113) would recommend the BikeShare Program to a colleague or another government agency. Registered users called the BikeShare Program convenient (56 percent), healthy (56 percent), innovative (45 percent), fun (39 percent), and accessible (33 percent).

To assist additional government agencies in launching, implementing, and sustaining an employee BikeShare Program, staff within the Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Branch (NEOPB) of CDPH designed a toolkit covering the following topics:

  1. Why Consider a BikeShare Program?
  2. Necessary Elements Before Launching Your Program, including organizational leadership and teams
  3. Equipment, including bicycles, helmets, racks, and locks
  4. Launch Timeline
  5. Running the Program, including logistics training, promotion, and bicycle maintenance
  6. Evaluation and Tracking: Bicycle Usage Statistics
  7. Funding Sources: Public, Private, or Combination
  8. Appendices, including a sample participation waiver and policy, maintenance checklist, and budget

The availability of a BikeShare Program Toolkit is one-step towards establishing a positive worksite wellness culture among California state agencies. To our knowledge, this is the first toolkit of its kind dedicated to highlighting the important roles and benefits a BikeShare Program can play at a worksite.There are two Calfiornia State Employee BikeShare Program infographics for different audiences: 1) employee-focused (left image); and 2) employer-focused (right image). Each infographic serves to educate and explain the BikeShare Program as a sustainable, healthy, fun, and convenient way for agencies to support employee wellness and the overall work environment.

The infographics:

  • Guide interested parties in participating in a BikeShare Program;
  • Explain how a BikeShare Program works and how to get involved;
  • List the benefits of implementing and using a BikeShare Program;
  • Illustrate what current employee users are saying about the BikeShare Program in their own words; and
  • Visually demonstrate how to get started.

To obtain electronic copies of the aforementioned resources, contact Jacqueline.Tompkins@cdph.ca.gov.

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