Cycle to work – a miracle medicine

“To promote healthier journeys to work and to reduce environmental pollution, the 1999 Finance Act introduced an annual tax exemption, which allows employers to loan cycles and cyclists’ safety equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit” as you can read on the gov.uk website. This Cycle to Work scheme is still going strong with nearly half a million bikes sold through the Cyclescheme.

The Cycle to Work Alliance explains the health benefits of cycling in The Healthy Commute:

Three quarters of the British population could be suffering from the effects of heart disease, diabetes and related illnesses by 2030 (Centre for Workforce Intelligence, 2013). Physical inactivity is a common cause of all of these illnesses.This manifestation of poor health as a result of physical inactivity not only impacts individuals, but has a tangible effect on businesses and employers. PWC estimates that British businesses lose £32 billion in lost output each year as a result of absenteeism (PWC, 2011).

Britain has some of the highest absenteeism rates in the developed world, and one key to addressing this is through increasing levels of physical activity. Physical activity is wonderful medicine, which radically reduces people’s risk of coronary heart disease; stroke; many forms of cancer, type 2 diabetes; depression and other forms of mental illness; loss of bone strength; obesity and other forms of non-communicable diseases. Maybe the best known figure comes from a long term study of more than 30,000 Danes: those who cycled to work had a 40% lower chance of heart disease (Andersen et al, 2000).

The Cycle to Work Alliance also surveyed over 18,000 users of the Cycle to Work scheme to evaluate its success in meeting the objectives. The key findings were:

1. £5.1bn savings to Government over 10 years through the health benefits

2. 85% of participants noticed a health benefit as a result of cycling to work.

3. 97% of employers see the scheme as crucial in helping to achieve a healthier workforce.

4. 72% of users would not have bought their bike had it not been available through the cycle to work scheme.

If you’d like to find out more about how to get a bike or how to set up the scheme at your organisation, visit cyclescheme.co.uk. If you’d like to find out more about how to promote physical activity among your workforce, see our posts on fitness. If you have aspirations for improving the health of your company, have a read to see what it takes to be Britain’s healthiest company.