Going to work by bike is (also) an economic incentive.The example of Trento

The Municipality launches a plan to encourage cycling:compensation and a 30 percent discount on public transport passes are provided.

Cycling extends your life.But in some cases it can also increase your bank account.We are talking about a symbolic sum (2 euros per day) which however has already managed to involve a large number of municipal employees, and not only, in a project.We are at Trent, where the experimentation of the “Bike to work”, already very popular in countries such as Holland, Germany and Belgium.Despite the importance of investing in the development of cycle paths, in this case the idea involves some real ones economic incentives for municipal workers who decide to leave the car at home for daily travel.

There will be prizes for those who cover the most kilometres

The first one started in December last year experimental phase will last until June:the Municipality of Trento has provided an allowance of 0.25 cents for each kilometer traveled on the home-work journey, for a maximum amount of 2 euros per day and 20 euros per month;to encourage participation there is also one competition on who will travel the most kilometres:the first seven classified will obtain an additional prize of 20 to 50 euros.There is also a 30 percent discount on the cost of the AI ​​subscription public transport, not only for municipal employees but also for the workers of the 32 public and private companies that joined the initiative:these are approximately 9,000 employees, as well as 15,761 male and female students from the University which is a partner of the initiative.

Analyze the needs of those who travel by bike

To prepare the project we started from an analysis of the needs whose decides to travel by bike every day.It turned out, for example, that one of the biggest hesitations involved leaving your vehicle for many hours in an unattended place:one was thus identified sheltered space inside the municipal offices, inside which they were also built changing rooms and showers, to respond to another of the requests posed by the workers.Funds have been allocated for the initiative 36 thousand euros:a part of these will be used to entrust to an external operator the creation and management of the system dedicated to the monitoring and certification of kilometers travelled, while the other part will be used for the provision of economic rewards.

The Municipality's plan for traveling between home and work

The “Bike to work” project is an integral part of a wider plan which concerns home-work travel for the current year.Approved in December by the Trentino administration, it aims to make roads safer for bicycles and scooters and to increase the use of public transport:among them 13 shares expected stand out carpooling as an alternative mobility system, the implementation of cycle paths and the strengthening of local public transport.Regarding this last point Giuliano Franzoi, mobility manager of the Municipality, explained that a "on-call public transport service, similar to the night bus but for daytime hours", will be activated.The Municipality will also encourage the work remotely and, through an internal information system, will share news relating to sustainable mobility with employees.If the "Bike to work" experimentation gives positive responses, the possibility of extend the project also to citizens for home-work and home-school travel.