In Christchurch NZ, amateur cyclists are being paid to ride their bikes! Book me a flight! Where do I sign up?
Yes, you heard that right - Make Collective, a creative advertising agency in New Zealand is offering cold hard cash to employees who cycle to work everyday in a bid to energise staff and move the city away from reliance on cars.
Employees who cycle to and from work will receive NZD$5 (roughly £2.60) a day and if they keep it up for more than six months the reward will double to NZD$10 (roughly £5.20) a day, paid out as a bonus at the end of the year.
Some employees were reportedly reluctant because the office had no shower facilities for them to freshen up after the ride to work, but in the end five of his six employees had joined the scheme - it appears that money is a strong incentive.
The money used to reward the cyclists comes straight out of the business profits, however Tim Chesney, the owner of the company argues that there are numerous tangible benefits of employees cycling to work that outweighs the negatives.
Not only is the scheme better for the environment, but according to Chesney it also leads to a more productive workforce.
“For a while I had been thinking it would be great to incentivise cycling in some way. I’m a really keen cyclist [and] cash is clearly the most obvious incentive,” said.
“My gut instinct is that it could be something really good for the workplace. I know for myself I show up feeling a lot more energised, my blood is already flowing.”
At WheelAle, we can’t help but agree with this sentiment, and hope other companies in cities across the world follow suit.
Check out our cycling routes here, or submit a route of your own that’s not already included on our website.
