Free2Cycle lets you donate your commuting miles to charity

Incentive-based cycle to work scheme donates 20p per mile

Caiaimage/Paul Bradbury/Getty

Published: August 31, 2018 at 9:00 pm

We previously reported on Free2Cycle (see original article below), a cycle scheme that lets you pay for your bike with your commuting miles. For every mile travelled, your employer pays 20p towards your bike. Well, now you can opt for your pedal power to contribute to charity, with the money going to your nominated cause instead.

Rather than using your accumulated miles to pay for bike servicing or accessories, it is now possible to donate the 20p per mile you earn on your commute.

Free2Cycle estimates that it will be able to donate £1 million a year to charities — a figure based on just 0.2 percent of the working population commuting around 25 miles a week by bike with the Free2Cycle plan.

Free2Cycle hopes that this will also help further incentivise riders to commute by bike, improving health and reducing the environmental impact of other forms of transport. We think it is commendable that the self-styled "wellbeing initiative" is trying to spread the positive impact of its scheme across all areas of society.

For more details about the charitable donations you can visit the dedicated page here. For information about the scheme in general you can visit Free2Cycle here.

Original article below

Does the idea of being given a bike for free just for cycling to work sound appealing? Free2Cycle wants to shake up the way cycle to work schemes work by allowing employees to ‘earn’ a new bike by riding to work.

Where most cycle to work schemes are paid off via salary deductions, Free2Cycle's plan has employers paying for 20p for every commute mile. These commutes will be tracked via an app. (For the record, Free2Cycle refers to itself as a “behavioural change initiative” rather than a scheme.) Although 20p/mile doesn’t sound like a lot, Free2Cycle expect most people to commit to the scheme for around four years.

Bikes of a value of up to £1,750 can be funded via Free2Cycle, but Free2Cycle expects most people will opt for more inexpensive bikes. You also have the option to extend this to £2,750 provided you pay an unspecified “additional contribution”.

Before you shysters out there start thinking of how your weekend jollies could pay off a new go-fast bike, only commuting mileage will count, with an upcoming dedicated app from Free2Cycle being used to track your progress.

Free2Cycle doesn’t require an upfront payment from the employee or employer - BikeRadar / Free2Cycle

Free2Cycle is unique in that is doesn’t require any upfront cost from either the employee or employer and is available to anyone over the age of 18 in full time employment. Compared to other schemes, this is a far more accessible arrangement.

Free2Cycle claims that having employers pay their employees to ride to work is a small investment that will save them money in the long run, with healthier and happier employees taking fewer sick days, feeling less stressed and reducing their carbon footprint.

Free2Cycle claims that it has already got the backing of a number of retailers and employers — including some unspecified “large scale employers” — that are interested in the scheme and they hope to launch fully later this year. It is also limited to the UK for now with plans to expand overseas once established.