On your bike…

If you drive to work, one of the nice things is to have a parking place. There’s nothing worse than being on time for work and then you can’t find anywhere to park and you end up being really late.

HSBC Bank in the UK has 700 car parking places in it’s two new regional centres but has recently announced that this is going to change.

90% of the car parking spaces will be removed and replaced with bike storage racks and changing rooms.

It’s all part of an 8-year programme in which the bank’s staff will be part of the “Cycle Nation Project”. HSBC Is hoping to enlist 1,280 staff to take part in an academic project which will study employee’s activity levels, motivation, cardiovascular health and the number of sick days they take.

The hope I guess is that the health benefits of cycling to work rather than sat in a car will result in a healthier and more motivated work force.

Ian Stuart, the Chief Executive of HSBC UK was reported as saying “Nobody gets a car parking space [at our Birmingham HQ] unless they have a disability. It won’t suit everyone and I understand that.”

The bank is planning on spending in excess of £3m this year on installing bike racks and shower facilities as well as providing electric bikes to some of the staff.

This is not the only money they are spending. The Cycle Nation Project forms part of the eight-year partnership between HSBC UK and British Cycling. HSBC will reportedly invest between £80 million and £100 million in the project.

The ambition for the Cycle Nation Project is to prove which real-world methods work best and provide clear guidance on how to get more people on their bikes.

All in all, a good cause and I’m sure the HSBC employees are fully behind it unless of course they live at the top of a steep hill and it rains a lot….