Bicycling Means Better Business

That's the title of an article at the Green Lane Project about the importance of bicycling to the business community, especially in attracting young employees. The article notes that Accenture recently moved it's Boston and Washington DC offices from the suburbs to more urban locations accessible by bike, walking, and transit.  Accenture moved from their Reston office in 2011.

FABB has not met with folks from the Fairfax Economic Development Authority and we should. The EDA website page on Transportation has no mention of bicycling. The photo below is from the Minneapolis EDA home page. Note the bike in the background. Minneapolis, a Gold level Bicycle Friendly Community, is not known for their mild winters. They have a 4% bicycle mode share as of 2009. The importance of biking in DC is also discussed in the article:

Photo: Minneapolis Economic
Development Authority

“Biking is definitely part of our strategy to attract and retain businesses in order to compete in a mobile world,” says Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak as we glide across the Mississippi river on a bike-and-pedestrian bridge—one of two that connect downtown to the University of Minnesota. “We want young talent to come here and stay. And good biking is one of the least expensive ways to send that message.”

“We moved from the suburbs to downtown Minneapolis to allow our employees to take advantage of the area’s many trails and to put the office in a more convenient location for commuting by pedal or foot,” explained Christine Fruechte, CEO of large advertising firm Colle + McVoy, in a newspaper op-ed. “Our employees are healthier, happier and more productive. We are attracting some of the best talents in the industry.”

David A. Wilson, who directs 1,600 employees at the Minneapolis office of the Accenture management consulting company, says good biking opportunities are important to the well-educated 25-35 year-olds he seeks to hire. “Five years ago, I don’t think business people were even thinking about bikes as a part of business. Today it’s definitely part of the discussion.” He notes that Accenture recently relocated their Boston and Washington, D.C. offices from suburbs to the city to offer employees better opportunities for biking, walking and transit.

The boom in biking is also creating opportunities in the real estate sector. Jair Lynch, founder and CEO of a DC real estate development and construction company, declares, “We don’t work in places that aren’t near bike lanes.” Even in the slow economy, $200 million in new apartments are currently under construction adjacent to the Midtown Greenway in Minneapolis, a bike “freeway” cutting through the south side of the city.

Another benefit businesses see for locating in bike-friendly locations is a break on health insurance costs. QBP, a bike parts distributor in the Minneapolis area employing 600, offered a series of incentives for employees to commute by bike and discovered an unexpected bonus—a 4.4 percent reduction in health care costs, totaling $170,000 a year.

Economic benefits of bicycling

From the article Bicycling for Better Business on Citiwire.net

Minneapolis bike lane

“Biking is definitely part of our strategy to attract and retain businesses in order to compete in a mobile world,” says Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak as we pedal across the Mississippi River on a bike and pedestrian bridge. “We want young talent to come here and stay. And good biking is one of the least expensive ways to send that message.”

Bikes are improving the business climate beyond big cities. Austin, Texas, is ambitiously expanding its bike infrastructure; its first green lane opened last spring, one of 10 planned. CEO Tyson Tuttle relocated Silicon Labs to downtown Austin five years ago to be near the bike trail system. “Biking on the trails is something a lot of employees enjoy,” said Tuttle, who sometimes rides to work. “And when people think about joining the company it’s a big draw.”

In Memphis, Eric Matthews echoes those comments. He’s CEO of Launch Memphis, an initiative to nurture and attract new businesses to city. He says, “Biking correlates with entrepreneurs.”

Eric Cantor and bicycling

Tom Bowden, advocacy chairman with BikeVA, has an opinion article in today's Post about Congressman Eric Cantor of Virignia and bicycling. Congressman Cantor is well-known among cyclists for supporting cuts to bicycle funding from the transportation budget, including cutting funding for the very successful Safe Routes to School Program. In the Post article, Welcome to the bike path, Mr. Cantor, Bowden, a conservative Republican, makes a good argument why other conservatives should support bicycling:

Then I’d remind him of the economic benefits of cycling — not just for cyclists, but for the community at large. Lower health-care costs benefit all of us. Fewer cars reduces the need for expensive new roads and parking lots, and it means fewer deaths and injuries from vehicle-related accidents. And jobs? Bike projects create jobs, all right — more than 11 jobs per million dollars vs. 8 jobs per million for highways.

Plus, bikes and a safe bike-commuting environment help people get to work even if they don’t have a car. In Richmond, some 18 percent of households can’t afford a car, and 60 percent of households share a single car among several adults. Bikes can help them get and keep jobs. Right now, biking and walking make up 12 percent of all trips in the United States and cost about 2 percent of transportation dollars. Yep, there are plenty of strong economic arguments for bikes that should appeal to thoughtful Republicans. I’ve got plenty more where these came from.