6 Surprisingly Bike-Friendly Businesses

Photo by Chuddlesworth

Every year, the League of American Bicyclists releases an updated list of Bicycle Friendly Businesses in the US. Including businesses in the six categories of Non-Profit/ Government, Professional Services, Bicycle Industry, Hospitality/ Food/ Retail, Medical/ Health, and Manufacturing/ Research, the list recognizes employers who go well beyond the basics to create a welcoming work atmosphere for employees, customers, and community members who bike.

The businesses are awarded Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum status for how successfully they achieve the 4 E’s of bike friendliness: Encouragement, Education, Engineering, and Evaluation.

Today, the League announced 161 new and renewing businesses to the ever-expanding list. Below are six businesses who have done a particularly great job at providing the resources, planning, education, and encouragement to get their communities – professional and otherwise – riding more bikes!

Bike Industry – The Bike Gallery

While it’s unsurprising that a bike shop would be considered a bike friendly business, it still takes that extra bit of effort to achieve Platinum status. The Bike Gallery in Portland, OR, goes the extra mile. The Bike Gallery is a full service repair shop/ bikes and accessories retailer that undertakes a number of initiatives to get more people riding bikes more often. They offer a range of bikes – from mountain bikes to road bikes to comfort cruisers – and custom fit them for each customer’s needs. They offer bike care training for new riders, a 6 month free tune-up period after bike purchase, a trade-in program for old bikes, and financial incentives for employees who ride to work every day in often-rainy Portland.

Professional Services – Facebook

While bike-friendliness is a major emerging trend in tech world, Facebook still leads the pack year after year. The social media giant has a free-for-employees bike share program on their Menlo Park campus, a full service bike-repair shop in the middle of campus with a 24-hour self-serving repair station, and an annual Bike to Work day. Facebook also recently built and underpass below the Bayfront Expressway to connect one side of their campus to the other, and has made the much needed safe-riding route open to the public.

Hospitality/ Food/ Retail – Target

When one thinks of the corporate culture at giant discount retailers such as Target, “bike-friendliness” is usually not the first characteristic to jump to mind. However, in 2014, Target became the first Fortune 100 company to achieve Platinum status, and has remained there since. Target has built-in incentives for employees to ride to work, and has top-of-the-line bike repair facilities at the Minneapolis, MN, headquarters that offer employees free onsite bike repairs and monthly safe riding and maintenance classes. Employees at the headquarters are also offered free public bike share memberships for Minneapolis’ Nice Ride system.

Non-Profit/ Government – The First Congregational Church in Memphis, TN.

The First Congregational in Memphis, TN takes their commitment to the health and vibrancy of their community seriously. Alongside their food distribution programs and community work, the members of First Congo have become a major force for increasing ridership in greater Memphis. The Church has its own bike co-op, Revolutions Bicycle Co-Op, which organizes regular community bike rides for children and adults, and offers bike repair classes to the public. Beyond the Co-Op, the church advocates for more bike lanes in the city and has been undertaking a number of initiatives to encourage Memphis residents to ride for health, transportation, and fun for over a decade.

Medical/ Health – Seattle Children’s Hospital

Seattle Children’s Hospital has long been considered one of the most bike-friendly medical institutions in the country, and this year that achievement was recognized when the League updated them from Gold to Platinum status. The hospital provides daily incentives to staff who ride to work, has an on-site bike service center and was the first business sponsor for Seattle’s public bike share system.

Manufacturing/ Research – KEEN

Perhaps it’s because they’re headquartered in Portland, or perhaps it’s simply because they care, but either way shoe manufacturing company KEEN Inc. has done much to encourage their employees to ride for transportation. The Portland headquarters has secure bike storage, locker rooms, and showers to make riding to work easier. There is tune-up station which offers bike safety workshops, employees are offered discounted bike gear, and employees are incentivized to ride more through an ongoing Bike Commute Challenge and Buddy Rides.