City, State, etc. Incentives for Companies Offering Bike Services

I am currently working to try to get my company to offer secured and sheltered bike parking. We currently have on street racks for parking and it is not super secure and I know people don't ride due to the safety and exposure of the current situation.

My company got pretty far planning to do so in 2008 but when the economic downturn hit cancelled all projects like this so I am trying to revive it and make the strongest case possible.

We work in the loop and I was wonder if anyone knew of any incentives offered to companies by any government agencies for offering services like this. I want to find as many reasons to push as well as offer up a convincing of an argument as possible to my company.

Thanks.

-Max

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Permalink Reply by Zoetrope on May 13, 2013 at 11:59am

http://momentummag.com/articles/how-bicycles-bring-business/

"...a growing body of research shows that people who arrive on two wheels have a bigger impact on the bottom line, too. Recent research out of Portland, OR, showed that cycling customers spent more per month ($75.66) than their car-driving counterparts ($68.56) at bars, restaurants and convenience stores. A 2009 study of Bloor Street in Toronto, ON, found that customers who arrive by foot and bicycle visit the most often and spend the most money per month.

Why do people who arrive on bicycles spend more money? Researchers in Muenster, Germany, suggest that because bicyclists buy smaller quantities and thus shop more frequently, they’re “exposed more often to temptation” – more likely to get extra items that aren’t on the shopping list."