Initial consultation (60 – 90 minutes) – £60 **Free for visitors to Love Local Expo 2021**
Additional consultation fees charged as follows:
Hourly: £60
Half Day (4 consecutive hours): £160
Full Day (8 consecutive hours): £280
We believe that embracing active travel rather than traveling by car is the right thing to do for every business, so we’re providing opportunities for companies to explore the benefits of using active travel, particularly cycling, to change up a few gears.
During this consultation, we will establish your organisation’s current use of active travel and outline an action plan to improve your use of active travel. This may be a stand alone piece of work that results in the development of a plan using your existing resources but additional services are available if you would like to work with us on more significant projects.
Bikes make business sense…
If you’re reading this, then we’ve either inspired some curiosity about embracing active travel in your working life or you’ve already connected with the concept of changing the way you travel and maybe even the way you work. Using bicycles for business purposes may seem impractical at times, but there are a lot of reasons why it makes great business sense and we’re here to support you in reaping the rewards of bicycles in business whether you want to completely revolutionise the way you travel and work or simply offer an alternative to your customers & employees.
Efficiency & Sustainability
Since the incorporation of Breaking Cycles CIC in August 2019, we have operated a sustainable transport policy which states our commitment to travel by sustainable means wherever possible. This being one of the main focusses of our business, we have gone out of our way to explore the limits of what is possible, e.g. using our bike trailer to transport equipment.
Statistics at the end of our second year of trading show that 92% of our travel has been cycled and only 8% by car. Travel by train, bus and on foot have not been recorded in this comparison, so this statistic actually overstates the proportion of our car usage!
This practice has had a positive impact upon our environmental sustainability, which is incredibly important to us, but it has also helped to reduce our costs as travel expenses by bicycle are significantly lower than by car. Working on HMRC’s rates of 20p per mile for bicycle milage compared to 45p per mile for car usage, we have made a saving of 51% on our travel expenses. This figure is calculated without considering parking costs, so could arguably be much higher too!
Changing 92% of your travel behaviour may be a big ask, but switching 18% of your milage from car to bike results in a 10% saving. Simply instigating a weekly cycling day could come close to achieving this goal.
Wellbeing Benefits
The benefits of cycling, amongst other forms of exercise, upon our mental wellbeing are consistently gaining more attention in both the media and academic studies. Lisa Robert’ 2016 study ‘Why I ride’ investigated motivations for participation in mountain biking. The study found that the overwhelming majority of mountain bikers feel that riding is important to their mental health.
93% of participants agreed with the statement “when I ride my everyday worries fade away,”
over 90% indicated that it is something they do to de-stress
More specific neurological studies show that cycling can help to support people with neurodivergent conditions such ad ADHD, schizophrenia and depression as well as a studies on healthy adults that show increases in neurological functioning after exercise.
There are significant benefits to physical wellbeing too; According to Sustrans, guidance from the National Institute of Health & Clinical Excellence (NICE) shows that on average, physical activity programmes can reduce absenteeism by 20% by helping staff to achieve recommended weekly physical activity levels, Public Health Guidance PH13 (2008).
Creativity and Productivity
‘I thought of it whilst riding my bicycle’ – Albert Einstein (talking about the theory of relativity)
In addition to the benefits that regular exercise has for our mental wellbeing, it is also well documented that exercise can be beneficial for the creative process. The quote above is an excerpt from Albert Einstein talking about the theory of relativity. He was ready to give up on his work because the maths didn’t quite fit what he was expressing but during a bike ride, the solution occurred to him.
We can’t promise that finding opportunities for your employees to get outside and ride bikes will yield results like the theory of relativity, but we are pretty confident that it can help with:
- Preparing for organisational and culture change
- Beginning new projects
- Recruiting the right people for your organisation
- Staff wellbeing and team building
If you have specific goals in mind relating to the above, you may also want to explore the possibility of conducting some targeted work based on our Adventure Therapy work.
Marketing and Social Responsibility
Does the way that you travel during your work day play an active part in communicating your brand and corporate identity?
When was the last time that a member of the public initiated a conversation with you about your choice of vehicle?
Did that lead to conversations about you company’s ethical standpoint, social responsibility and leave a lasting impression upon that member of the public?
Whether I’m riding the eBike and towing a trailer or making use of one of the Bike Library’s town bikes, I am often asked about what I do, why I choose cycling over driving. Sometimes, this leads directly to new work and sometimes its just a chat, but I can honestly say that arriving somewhere by car, even when its loaded up with tool and has bikes on the roof, has never attracted any attention for my company.
Encouraging your staff to cycle, using cycling as part of your creative processes and HR management and investing in branded bikes or cycling equipment are not only great ways of communicating that you are committed to doing your bit in working towards a healthier, happier and more sustainable future, but they are the conversation starters that make you and your company stand out in the minds of potential customers, collaborators and future employees.
