Being a bike friendly business opens up many possibilities for your business.

Actions Business Can Take:

Bike users make good customers – attract them with quality bike parking and by supporting proposed cycling infrastructure like cycle lanes.

Foot traffic is good for business – make your business readily accessible to pedestrians and bike users (and not walled off by car-parking).

Encourage your employees and customers to bike – freeing up car parking spots for people who can’t use active transport.

Make it easy to be green -Include ‘how to bike here’ and public transport information on your website.

Moving premises? Cut costs by reducing your expenditure on car-parking and ensuring your new premises has great bike parking, good pedestrian access and is close to public transport routes. Install great end-of-trip facilities for your staff.

More ways to be bike-friendly

Form a Bike Friendly Business District:

A  bunch of businesses located close together who decide to work together to encourage bike-users to visit their business district.

Why:

1.  There is a strong “bike local” / “shop local” connection:  bicyclists tend to shop closer to home.  A Bikes Welcome Business District (BWBD) creates a destination where bike-users can do much of their shopping and socialising in one spot.  The rewards: loyalty, referrals and repeat business.

2. Businesses in areas that encourage biking see increased sales:  increased sales were reported in such diverse cities as Melbourne, San Francisco, California; Ft. Worth, Texas; and Toronto after bike lanes and bike parking were installed.

3. Bicycle-friendly districts attracts tourists:  bike tourism is on the rise. On average, cycling tourists spend more on their visit – $3800 compared with $2,500.  There is a significant high value segment in the cycling market with 22 per cent of international cycling tourists saying they spend over $5,500 on their visit to New Zealand.

4. Increased bicycling reduces the need to create more car parking:  “Not enough parking” is often a concern of business districts.   However, encouraging drivers to bike instead frees up car parking.

5. Bicycling brings more vibrant Main Streets:  Bicyclists, just like pedestrians, add more eyes and ears to the district, making it safer, friendlier, and more vibrant.  This attracts more women, families, and a diversity of customers, thereby increasing sales.

See Nine Reasons to Create a Bicycle Friendly Business District

How:

  1. Talk to your neighbouring businesses and see if they are keen.
  2. Get in touch with us, we can help.
  3. Work with your council or a bike parking supplier to ensure a good supply of quality bike parking – you’ll need it!

Offer Discounts to People on Bikes:

Offer a discount for bicyclists (e.g. 15% off) or promotion (e.g.: free item with meal – drink, bread, dessert etc).

You might consider a ‘Saturdays only’ option if you can’t afford to offer the discount daily but still want to try and attract families, shoppers, and others who tend to bicycle more on weekends.

Why:

To attract nearby residents, cycling clubs, and tourists, and to encourage active transport.

How:

Let us know what discount / offer you have available, and we will include it in our online directory.  And we can promote it via our web page, social media, media publicity, e-blasts.  We’ll also let ride organisers know, so that organized rides – like those ending at a different coffee/lunch spot each week – can support your business. You could also promote it regularly via your website, e-blasts, and social media.

Use Bikes in Your Business:

Using bikes as part of your business: deliveries, errands, promotions, direct sales (e.g the beer bike)

Why:

Bikes are often a more convenient mode of transport for business owners to conduct business. They are also an eye-catching marketing tool, healthy for the rider and district, decrease traffic and parking issues, and an important part of an emergency toolkit. (Bike sales soared immediately following the Japanese tsunami.)

How:

  1. Purchase bikes, cargo bikes, and accessories – such as baskets, trailers, locks, lights and helmets – you could share them with nearby or like-minded business.
  2. Equip each bike with a basket, lock, lights and helmet.
  3. Consider sign-writing or a custom paint job to make your bike a mobile billboard.  Alternatively use stickers or corflute signs attached to the rack or top tube.
  4. Provide safety training to staff via your local authorities cycle training operations.

Example:

Simon at Wellington’s TuaTua cafe uses a bike and trailer for his pick-ups and deliveries around the Wellington CBD. He’s found it to be easier, cheaper and quicker than using his car.