London cycle commuters need more office showers, bike storage and drying rooms, study finds

A study of workplaces in London’s City and West End has found that cycle commuters lack showers, places to dry their kit and safe bike storage, with its authors urging employers to make better provision for those who choose to get to work by bike.

Researchers from ESCP Business School in northwest London were commissioned to carry out a study of provision for cyclists at work premises in the capital by real estate firm Evans Randall Investors, reports the London Evening Standard.

They found that most of the 61 businesses surveyed had failed to meet the boom in cycling to work that has helped fuel a 133 per cent rise in the number of trips made by bicycle in the capital from 2000-15, according to TfL, before the opening of two new Cycle Superhighways last year.

According to the survey, only one in five workplaces provided a room where cyclists could dry their kit and fewer still had somewhere to hang up suits and other workwear overnight. On average, offices provided one shower per 240 workers.

Where cycle storage was provided, 60 per cent of them were reported to be full or almost full every day.

One cyclist interviewed as part of the study said: “I end up using my handlebars as drying racks and have no choice but to take my wet shoes to my desk. My co-workers are not impressed.”

Another employee, who does not commute by bike, told researchers: “I’m all for people cycling, but not when their wet kit ends up on their chair.”

The study said that three buildings – the Cheesegrater and the Alphabeta Building in the City of London, and 7 Clarges Street in Mayfair, were ‘best in class’ when it came to providing facilities for cyclists.

Its authors said that premises in excess of 50,000 square feet should make provision of storage facilities for bikes and clothing, as well as showers, drying rooms and bike repair stations that cycle commuters can use.

Kent Gardner, chief executive of Evans Randall Investors, said: “Just five years ago cycling provision in an office was seen as a benefit — it’s now an expectation.”

Last year, we reported how Darren Bilsborough, CEO of the consultancy Office Space Matters and an expert on workplaces and productivity, said that businesses needed to prioritise walking and cycling and “forget about cars” to keep their staff productive.

> Office expert: business should invest in cycling facilities

Last year, the senior partner of leading international law firm Allen & Overy, which is based in Canary Wharf and employs more than 1,500 people in London, told road.cc that cycling infrastructure and facilities were now vital in attracting and retaining staff.

> Cycle infrastructure helps companies attract "top talent"

The firm is one of more than 180 London employers signed up to CyclingWorks, originally set up to emphasise support by businesses and other organisations for the capital’s Cycle Superhighways, and is also a member of British Cycling’s #ChooseCycling Network.