All I got was this stupid bike rack!
Thread started by
Leetard at 05.28.08 - 11:16 am
So, I've been trying to get my self-proclaimed "Green Corporation" that I work for to start promoting cycling as an alternative transportation to it's employees. I suggested many of the incentives that are currently in practice with other companies such as: Bike Week, mileage reimbursement, subsidies for parking and bus pass costs, flex time, and a more relaxed dress code for those who cycle.
After not hearing anything for about a month I got a call today saying they are looking into installing BIKE RACKS!!!
WTF!
Forgive me, but is a 'parking space' for your bike outside susceptible to sun/rain/THEFT really going to persuade people to ride their bikes??? Hell no! People (read: corporate Americans) need to be persuaded to do something through bribes and special treatment! No one will change (or even consider change) unless they will receive recognition for their change as something special... sad but true.
So now, my company will WASTE hundreds of dollars installing these new bike racks. Oh, they'll send out a blanket email informing everyone that their new "green initiative in an environmentally conscious company" is bike racks for all to enjoy! A few retards will send a reply-to-all from their Blackberry while sitting in their car, congratulating their "forward" thinking, and the bike racks will sit there, unused and rusting away sandwiched between the back building and an over crowded parking lot.
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Where do you put your bike when you ride to work?
Just wondering.
kyber05.28.08 - 11:23 am
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Would a bike locker help you at all or no?
kyber05.28.08 - 11:30 am
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Nah, we have tons of indoor storage for bikes. We're fortunate to have lots of unused warehouse space (I'm talking like not a single foot has stepped there in years) that could be used if suddenly everyone decided to ride their bikes.
I guess, I'm frustrated because I feel that the money spent would fare much better towards programs to get people to ride rather than a rack for the few that already ride anyways.
Leetard05.28.08 - 11:35 am
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Ooh I hope it's those cool racks where you can only lock your WHEEL to the rack!
neverclever05.28.08 - 11:46 am
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I totally agree with you. I was just wondering since I might have been able to help you out with the locker thing.
The other side of the new green revolution that people usually don't see is that people often cash in on the buzzword without actually doing a goddamn thing that is considered green.
I remember reading a blog somewhere about a supposedly "eco-friendly" restaurant in Santa Monica which turned out to offer nothing but meat and fish that was imported from all around the world. Sadly, it's become a marketing term for a lot of companies looking for a nice dose of good PR.
Keep pressing for change and let them know that bike racks are not enough.
kyber05.28.08 - 11:48 am
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This sounds kinda whiney. What's wrong with a bike rack? It never rains here, so that's not an issue. And just lock your bike up like everyone else. You'd probably want to lock it up if you kept it inside anyway. And there's the better public value of showing the rack and bikes out front, which might remind drivers of the biking option.
Find something else to bitch about.
0gravity05.28.08 - 11:48 am
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Would you lock your bike up in a public place everyday for 40 hours a week?
I wouldn't.
He has a right to bring up this important issue, because most employers just don't get it. Some of them are out of touch, and some just don't care to know. Either way, communication will allow you to figure out which scenario he's dealing with.
kyber05.28.08 - 11:51 am
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How many other employees have expressed a real willingness to ride to work??? If alot have, tell yer immediate boss that during your lunch break you are going to clear out an area in the unused warehouse space for bike parking. I mean, how much should it really cost??
surfzombo05.28.08 - 12:08 pm
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Oh, one more thing. You should volunteer to install the bike racks. Depending on would kind of bike rack are going to be installed, just rent a hammer drill for about 50 bucks+-, buy some concrete anchors, and do it.
surfzombo05.28.08 - 12:12 pm
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I hear ya, Lee... you wanted a program to encourage people to cycle and all they gave you was a solution to a non-existent problem. I'd be annoyed too if my company put a bike rack here, because then I'd feel obligated to use it when my bike is much safer inside the office... and it would seem like a gesture to get it out of here.
Bike racks are great though, don't get me wrong... I just see Lee's point.
On a happy note, I see that the city of Burbank has recently put up more racks... which is great because when I'm not at home or at the office, I like to know I've got something reliable to lock my bike to.
canadienne05.28.08 - 12:31 pm
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My company just did something similar - not under the pretense of being green, but to get rid of "clutter" from the wherehouse (several bikes parked in an unused area).
They put a wheel-bender bike rack in the parking lot and banned bicycles from anywhere inside the building. Now instead of 4 bikes in the wherehouse there is on occasion one bike parked in the lot.
thinkpeace05.28.08 - 4:42 pm
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Well, back to my old job I go(don't worry, I've already found other trucking companies).
Aside from not wanting to give us addresses to pickups/drop-offs, running overweight loads, and running our logbooks to the brim,
I was chewed out for bringing a borrowed Dahon into the truck!!!!
Apparently, I don't think it's cleanliness, not so much as these guys apparently don't want their drivers to have a life.
At least with a big company I ran for, like Swift, they could care less about "recreational-equipment", just so long as it was carried in a safe manner.
So, note to self; Find a small-carrier that's either local, or cares more about their trucks coming back in one piece.
As far as bike-racks in the desert, at least the local college and the Wal-mart have them.
Save for the fact that there's only one, or two bikes locked to the sum'bitches at any given time.
bentstrider05.28.08 - 7:54 pm
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Man Strider I thought you had miss threaded there for a minute.
but I guess it was just a non sequitur.
I work in an office building. Not the same as Leetard's position, but we have no rack and underground parking. I asked for a rack which was promised but never delivered. It is supposed to be outside. Not Ideal, but I'll take it, since I can't store my bike in the office. They let ME lock my bike to a railing in the garage, since I bitched. But if others tried it I know it wouldn't fly. I wish they would give up a space at the end of a row and put one in the garage, but people pay alot of money for those, so no way. I guess the only thing I would say Lee is they should be doing alot more I agree, but don't shrug off the rack. Some people have no problem locking outside. Who knows, maybe they are starting with the easy things.
Drew05.28.08 - 10:59 pm
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I guess to some, bike racks are enough.
Personally, I would like to have somewhere safe to put my bike. I have to leave my bike 2 blocks from my work in a parking garage. It sucks. I think it may get heisted. There are bike racks outside of my work but they are horrible. My lock doesn't fit through the alloted space where it is supposed to fit. I'll be a monkey's uncle if you think I'm putting a cable lock on my bike.
It's pretty lame that corporate america needs to have incentives to ride bikes.
NEWB31005.28.08 - 11:56 pm
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"Find something else to bitch about.
0gravity"
Uhz, I think Leetard has a totally legitimate thing to be bitching about. Bike Racks? As a Green Initiative? That's so lame. I totally agree that that money should be spent on something a bit more "green", like bus, bike & carpooling incentives. And, as kyper mentioned, "Green" is just the newest marketing catch-phrase. Right up there with Transfats, Organic, or Natural Flavors.
the reverend dak05.29.08 - 3:06 pm
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Say "hey, nice bike racks... Now when does this green initiative get started?"
It reminds me of this study I saw a while ago about people's perception of what it means to "buy green." It turns out that all it takes to get many people to think they've made a socially responsible purchase is to package the product in a green box. Sounds like the execs here are gift-wrapping the bike racks in a "green box" and hoping everybody will cheer and feel some nebulous increase in company pride.
Seriously, when it comes to business, so much of what passes for environmental "responsibility" is just window dressing to make people feel better about themselves. Which is a pity, because a lot of businesses would actually profit by increasing efficiency and encouraging their employees get around in more healthy and sustainable ways. But for some reason, those serious changes are always seen as some kind of sacrifice...
nathansnider05.29.08 - 7:55 pm
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Funny, I've been thinking of biking to work lately since the weather has been good. I just asked "Where can I park my bike in the building?" yesterday. They haven't gotten back to me yet :( I work in DT and there is no way I'm leaving my bike on rack outside.
web77705.30.08 - 2:07 pm
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