Commuters – What Are Your Employer Asks?

[americancyclo]

On my wishlist:
Employer paid bike repair/tune-up/cleaning service from http://www.everythingesmonde.com/

I know he’s doing some work at EPA and a few law firms.

[FFX_Hinterlands]

@jopamora 50453 wrote:

Anyone have any experience with bike commuter benefits? My company is upping the monthly benefit to $30 in June. I’ve been considering it, but it seems like more hassle than it is worth. Course my Metro funds aren’t doing me any good now.

Not sure why it’s trouble? I signed up to auto-enroll every month. I get an email confirming my scheduled order (no action needed on my part) and then I get the check 10 days later. The benefit is accepted at lots of local bike shops just like cash. You cannot combine with transit benefit, so that can be a conflict.

[UrbanEngineer]

The office building I work at near farragut square has a wheel bender type rack on the 3rd level of the parking garage. Getting down to the 3rd level of the garage hasn’t been so bad, as I’ve done it just about every day for 5 years now, but on rainy or snowy days, some of the very steep slick inclines with 90° blind corners at the bottom of them are a bit much. Throw in cars moving, cars parking, and pedestrains walking to/from the core elevators and you’ll come to realize the 3rd level of a parking garage is not really an ideal place to put a bike rack. Could be worse though.

[jopamora]

@FFX_Hinterlands 50468 wrote:

Not sure why it’s trouble? I signed up to auto-enroll every month. I get an email confirming my scheduled order (no action needed on my part) and then I get the check 10 days later. The benefit is accepted at lots of local bike shops just like cash. You cannot combine with transit benefit, so that can be a conflict.

I was under the impression that the substantiation process was more tedious than getting a voucher every month. Time to talk to HR.

[Tim Kelley]

@jopamora 50471 wrote:

I was under the impression that the substantiation process was more tedious than getting a voucher every month.

Not unless your people require it to be tedious!

[Greenbelt]

My office is great: underground rack, locker room with showers.

One thing I’d add if possible: a water hose, where you could spray off a bike after a commute during salt season.

[jopamora]

@Tim Kelley 50472 wrote:

Not unless your people require it to be tedious!

Thanks for the Kiss of Death

[FFX_Hinterlands]

@jopamora 50471 wrote:

I was under the impression that the substantiation process was more tedious than getting a voucher every month. Time to talk to HR.

It depends on how it’s implemented. We don’t have program requirements yet (proof that you biked x% of the time). It’s all honor system at my office, but results may vary.

[dasgeh]

@FFX_Hinterlands 50461 wrote:

At my office:

1. Covered parking that’s as convenient as the closest car space.
2. Commuter Benefit $20 month (stipend not pre-tax)
3. Shower with towel service
4. Wiki with bicycle commuter information
5. Bicycle commuter classes/info
6. Fixit stand onsite
7. Bike loaners/bike share on site
8. Store onsite that sells sundry items/shirts/shorts, etc (not bicycle specific)

Wow! Where do you work? (If you don’t mind sharing)

[KLizotte]

As a lady cyclist, it was pretty important to me that my employer’s gym let me keep toiletries in my locker overnight (esp since the gym is located in a different building from where I work). We ladies typically have shampoo, conditioner, soap, multiple brushes/combs, hair dryer, etc.

Also, lockers with plenty of holes to allow ventilation is a must, esp in our humid summers.

I wish the shower facilities were free but alas one must pay the annual gym fee. A towel service would be great but have been told that hell will freeze over before that happens.

A coworker said she once belonged to a private gym that also washed and dried your gym clothes! You’d stick them in a baggie with your name on it and the next day the clothes would be returned to your locker all clean and folded. Now that I could go for….

[mstone]

I’m pretty happy with our facility–locked cage with vertical racks, and a shower room–until I think about this towel service thing.

I’ve got to stop thinking about a towel service.

[FFX_Hinterlands]

@dasgeh 50484 wrote:

Wow! Where do you work? (If you don’t mind sharing)

AOL! Dulles, VA. Loudoun County, if you can believe it. I’m also their official bicycle advocate (not my day job). The biggest help has been a facilities guy that is also a cyclist.

Not bad for the ‘burbs. I’ll also note that there’s a new office building (not AOL) just West of Herndon on the W&OD that installed bike Lockers (!) instead of a bike rack. Nice.

[JeffB]

@KLizotte 50485 wrote:

As a lady cyclist, it was pretty important to me that my employer’s gym let me keep toiletries in my locker overnight (esp since the gym is located in a different building from where I work). We ladies typically have shampoo, conditioner, soap, multiple brushes/combs, hair dryer, etc.

We used to have permanent lockers but there weren’t enough for everybody so somebody complained and the HR director just threw up his hands and said henceforth nobody gets a personal locker. I wish I had thought to ask at the time if the same reasoning would be applied to the limited reserved garage parking.

I think I will try getting back day use of the lockers. We used to have that but the same HR director decreed that away as well. I think the building manager felt bad about that but couldn’t overrule a VP.

[JeffB]

Here’s my list so far ranked in order of least to most ask:

1) Floor pump
2) Swap good bike rack with wheel bender rack
3) 1 – 2 multi tool thingies, tire levers, chain lube
4) Allow day use of lockers
5) Install shelf in showers for soap & shampoo – they tried a suction cup thing but it never worked.
6) Bike stand or maybe rack attached to garage wall

bigger asks
7) Be more attentive to drains clogging in the showers
Drying area for wet clothing / Space for permanent lockers
9) Reconfigure locker room to permit a second bench which would allow more people to share it.

[creadinger]

Great list! My office has secure underground parking, a shower, though it’s gross and I prefer to just use a towel of my own…. the only thing I would ask is that we move our facility from the wastes of Suitland to downtown somewhere. That’s not too much to ask right?

Would save me about 6 miles each way and 500 feet of climbing.

Not to mention the lunch options… whewee!

[Author]

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