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CAT Media Centre
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CAT Media Department: Press Release
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| Bike to the office and save energy |
| CAT staff member pedals to work via Cycle to Work Scheme |
| Contact: Amanda Roll Pickering (Email) |
Date: 25/11/2005 |
 An Information Officer at the Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) has become the first staff member to join a new scheme to help people cycle to work.
Lucy Stone, who works in the Information Department at CAT in Mid Wales, has received a brand new bike.
Increasing numbers of employers are realising that a fitter workforce is more efficient. There are also clear environmental benefits to leaving the car at home.
"I chose a beautiful new bike, which CAT paid for," Lucy said. "I can easily cycle to work or meetings in town – much better than sitting in the car polluting the environment. It has really improved the time I would usually spend in the car for short journeys."
Where an employer sets up a Cycle to Work scheme, employees can choose a bicycle. The company buys it, then rents it to the employee. Usually the employee pays the money back from their salary over a prearranged period, typically between one year and three years.
Apart from paying in instalments, there are other benefits to the scheme. Lucy's bike is paid for out of her gross salary, so it is deducted before tax and National Insurance contributions, saving her money. Usually, the company can also reclaim VAT on the bike.
In three years CAT will sell it, probably to Lucy, at the market value of a three-year-old bike, which will be far less than it cost originally.
Employers can expect increased efficiency from signing up, which will cost them nothing. Many illnesses are caused by lack of physical fitness, and every year British workers take 166 million sick days, costing employers over £11 billion.
www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_susttravel/documents/page/dft_susttravel_038228.hcsp
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Copyright © 1995-2010 Centre for Alternative Technology Charity Limited, a company limited by guarantee
Charity no. 265239; Company no. 1090006, registered in Wales; registered office: Llwyngwern, Machynlleth, Powys, SY20 9AZ; VAT number: 377 8917 83
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