Active Transportation at Work

Active transportation refers to all types of human-powered transportation such as walking, cycling, in-line skating or skateboarding, or using a wheelchair. There are many ways to engage in active transportation:

  • Walk to the school bus
  • Walk, cycle or roll to school or work
  • Walk, cycle or roll to other locations

Active transportation provides:

  • Opportunities for people to be physically active on a regular basis
  • More opportunities to meet people
  • Travel options for those who cannot drive
  • Less motor vehicle traffic on our roads
  • Improved local air quality and reduced greenhouse gas emissions
  • Opportunities to save money on gas and parking

It's good for business

Promoting active transportation and supporting employees to use it is not just good for them, it is good for your business.

Benefits to the workplace:

  • Employees who actively commute are healthier, which translates into savings to health care costs
  • Reduced parking demand and parking costs
  • Reduced traffic congestion
  • Reduced mileage claims and other business travel
  • More parking for customers
  • Improved corporate image through social responsibility and environmental awareness

How to support employees

Raise awareness 

Awareness-raising activities teach employees about the health, environmental and economic benefits of choosing active transportation through:

  • Bulletin boards and displays
  • Internal staff communication (employee portal, newsletter, etc.)
  • Presentations or workshops
  • Promotion of external events such as Bike Month
  • Promotion of transit routes near the workplace for getting to and from work
Build skills 

Skill-building activities help show employees how to choose alternate modes of transportation through:

  • Presentations or workshops with a skill-building component
  • Contests or challenges around active transportation
  • Training opportunities, such as walking clinics or CAN-BIKE courses
  • Demonstrations on how to use easyGO transit trip planner
Create a supportive environment 

Supportive environments strengthen and improve employees' healthy practices and make it easier for employees to make smart choices about transportation modes. Here is what employers can do:

  • Provide access to change rooms, lockers, showers, secure bike storage, gear storage
  • Map out cycle/walking/transit routes to work
  • Assess the workplace and its property to ensure they are accessible for all forms of active transportation - walking, cycling, scooters, wheelchairs, etc.
  • Work with municipalities, property managers for sidewalks, ramps and curbs to be built for accessibility
  • Provide access to a bike-loan program for employees for short trips to meetings
  • Provide or subsidize a membership to Community Access BikeShare
  • Allow additional travel time to off-site meetings
  • Provide a company work car for work purposes
  • Enrol your company in Community CarShare
  • Provide a Guaranteed Emergency Ride Home
Develop clear policies 

Policies improve and sustain healthy practices by clarifying roles and expectations between employers and employees. They also show the value a business places on the health and well-being of its employees.

Healthy workplace policies include:

  • Development of one or more active transportation policies, known as Travel Plan, that allows:
    • Business casual clothing policy
    • Flexible work schedule
    • Telework or work closer to home
    • Transportation allowance policy (i.e. reimbursement for distance travelled by walking or biking)
    • Reimbursement for not using a parking spot
    • Parking policy (i.e. payout for not using a parking spot)
    • Grand River Transit Corporate Pass or subsidy
  • Join TravelWise for access to discounted travel passes, carpool and trip-planning resources, an emergency ride home service, and more
  • Purchase a corporate membership to Community Car Share or Bike Share program

Additional information

Related pages 

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