Ten novice bicycle commuters will earn up to $200 a month in reimbursements and incentives this summer simply by riding their bikes to work.
In addition, the 10 bike riders get $100 for a helmet, a lock and a tune-up at their local bike shop, and a free two-day League of American Bicyclist Road 1 training session.
In return, all the cyclists have to do is agree to ride their bikes from, through or to eastern or central Contra Costa County at least twice a week to get to their jobs from June through September.
511 Contra Costa
This brilliant project to demonstrate the benefits of bicycle commuting is the work of 511 Contra Costa, a transportation demand management program that encourages carpooling, vanpooling, transit, telecommuting and other ways of reducing car trips.
Matt Wood, a 511 Contra Costa project manager who came up with the idea for the Bicycle Commuter Assistance Program, says he knows of no other jurisdiction in the US that offers such a program. He explained in an email:
“The goal of the program is to provide training so participants become familiar with their rights and responsibilities as bicyclists. We want them to feel safe on the road and become ambassadors for bicycling in their communities.
“… We also would like the participants to incorporate bicycling into their lifestyle. … The overall goal of the program is to decrease the number of short trips to work and for errands and thus improve air quality in our communities.”
Who
This is the second year for the program. Last year the 10 participants rode their bicycles an average 12 times a month for an average daily mileage of 10.57 miles. Two of them incorporated public transit into their commute.
Here's how the incentives work. After the 10 are chosen, they're each given $100 for a new helmet, lock and/or tune-up for their bike.
How
When they start commuting, they're eligible for up to $200 per month. This includes 52 cents per mile bicycling (paid in Safeway gift cards) and reimbursements for BART, County Connection or other transit used on the bike commute.
The “average” bike commuter in last year's program, for instance, would receive $65.95 in gift cards for the commuting miles laid down. If transit was involved in the commute, that also would be reimbursed until the total $200 is reached.
Sign up
The application deadline for the program is April 26, 2008. See the Bicycle Commuter Assistance Progam online questionnaire (.pdf).
Also check out the Bicycle Commuting page for extensive information about bicycle commuting in the Bay Area.
The funding was provided by the Contra Costa Transportation Authority “Measure C” half-cent sales tax revenue and The Bay Area Air Quality Management District's Transportation Fund for Clean Air, Wood said.
Although small in scale, this program sounds like a great way to encourage folks to commute by bike. Hats off to Wood for coming up with this idea, and I hope it catches on elsewhere. My apologies to any other programs that offer similar benefits. If you know of any, I'd like to hear about them.
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