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Permalink Reply by djm on January 10, 2013 at 7:44am

Its a good thing.  Of course, Harvard is a very successful business whose endowment exceeds $30 billion and can afford this benefit.

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Permalink Reply by Will on January 10, 2013 at 8:18am

Serge, does your flex program cover bicycle commuting-related expenses?

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Permalink Reply by Active Transportation Alliance on January 10, 2013 at 8:25am

This is great to see.  All over the country employers are beginning to see the link between productive employees and commuter options.  One of our rock star Bike Commuter Challenge companies - The Burke Group, of Rosemont - pays each employee 75 cents per mile ridden each year.  

QBP, the bike parts wholesaler, recently touted the savings of their bike-commuting-incentive program (PDF) at last year's Bike Summit in Washington, D.C.  QBP pays each employee who bikes to work $3 a trip at a total annual cost of about $45,000.  Independently, they had asked their healthcare coverage provider to investigate why their costs had seemingly be flat, when the national rate for coverage was skyrocketing.  Once their provider found that they had a record of every bike trip their employees had been taking to work, the rest was easy.

 

QPB's bike commuter benefit - as part of a larger wellness program - contributed a significant return on investment.  Over the three year period analyzed, the provider quantified the following returns on the original investment of the bike-to-work benefit ($135,000 cash paid out over the same time frame):

• 4.4% decline in enterprise healthcare costs (versus 25% increase, national average)
• $200,000 savings in health insurance premium
• $900,000 positive impact to productivity
• A total of $1.2 million in enterprise savings, plus...
• $600,000 in out-of-pocket savings for employees (an average of $100 per participating employee annually)

Active Trans and the Regional Transportation Authority have launched a trip tracking and incentive website - www.drivelesslivemore.com - that can help workplaces who wish to measure the effectiveness of similar commute options incentive programs.  The site builds on the success of our annual Bike Commuter Challenge and also provides individual rewards for day-to-day trip tracking, encouraging employees to leave the car at home. To learn more, see our page on Workplace Travel Planning, included on the website.

Brian Morrissey

Program coordinator, www.drivelesslivemore.com

Active Transportation Alliance

312-427-3325 x243

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Permalink Reply by Mike Zumwalt on January 10, 2013 at 11:27am

It's $20 a month at least that's what I got. I think it's along with pre tax transit or parking reimbursement but you can only pick one.

Serge Lubomudrov said:

I believe something similar does exist in Chicago (and elsewhere), but it's boarding on ridiculous, as it amounts for about $20 a year. Even "flexible spending" program my employer offers is better, as it set's aside more than $2,000 a year for non-taxable transportation-related expenses.

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Permalink Reply by Mark Potts on January 10, 2013 at 12:47pm

Good for QBP!

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