«More than 60% of employees drive to workover an average distance of less than 10 km. Francois BOUCHON / Le Figaro
500,000 employees go to work by bike, “a ridiculous figure” according to the French Federation of Bicycle Users (FUB).
«500,000 bike riders in France, a ridiculous figure“: to encourage employees to use the bicycle, it is also a question of convincing the employers, estimated Friday of the speakers of the 23rd congress of the French Federation of the users of the bicycle (FUB), organized in Rennes.
«There is a big cultural problem, in France, we like cycling, but the Tour de France! The bicycle is not yet seen as a vehicle, but it is a mode of transport in the same way as the bus, the car or the train“, explains Annie-Claude Thiolat, vice-president of the FUB. “More than 60% of employees drive to work“, over an average distance yet less than 10 km, she regrets, while the average speed in urban areas reaches 19 km / h while pedaling against 17 km / h by car.
And with half a million bike riders, France has, according to her, a figure “ridiculous compared to the number of people who travel by car home / work“. Thus, during a conference with the somewhat provocative title “Employers: prepare for the end of the car“, several avenues have been explored to change the situation, while the home-work distance continues to grow, a consequence of the pandemic.
“To change the mentalities”
First, in the face of climate change,society will increasingly value people taking care of themselves and others, by having lifestyles favorable to health and the environment“, wants to believe Lionel Fournier, health and ecology director of Mutual Harmony. Another element to be studied, against a backdrop of rising fuel costs, is better management between the employee’s domicile and his workplace by human resources.
«We realize among large multi-site employers in France – 45% of French employees work for them – that there is no optimal dispatch“, explains Julie Sadaka-Etringer, Director of Operations and Advocacy at “1km walk“. For example, employeeswork 20 km from home when they could be assigned to a site 5 km from their home“, she argues. Above all, the Employer Mobility Plan (PDME), a company project whose objective is to “promote the use of alternative modes of transport to the private car“according to Ademe, allows to”to change the mentalities“, according to Isabelle Bailleul, mobility project manager at La roue libre in Le Havre.
Read alsoAnd the best cities in the world to cycle are…
Healthier employees
The association, contacted by the Normandy metropolis which had built new cycle paths, provided training sessions within the companies themselves for employees “who hadn’t ridden a bike since childhood“, she says. Another argument can also hit the bull’s eye with general management: the better health of bike riders. “In terms of absence from work, we have on average two and a half days less for cyclists than for employees who are not», maintains Annie-Claude Thiolat.
«All companies that have a staff of commuters realize that they arrive wide awake and more efficient», an argument «profitability» to be used with certain companies and which have understood the interest of having a large number of car parks and comfort features such as showers. While some companies still offer company cars, a “drives to crime», according to Lionel Fournier, because the user does not pay for his kilometres, others are gradually acquiring a fleet of service or function bicycles, proof that the view of cyclists is changing in direction.