Cycle storage can be an overlooked aspect of school life. But bringing these facilities to your school or workplace could yield more benefits than you may have realised, including some surprising ones.
Here, we discuss how bike shelters can benefit your school:
Traffic reduction at the gates
Up and down the country, the build-up of vehicles outside schools at pick-up and drop-off times is a real headache. It leaves parents struggling to find somewhere to stop the car, while the extra school traffic blocks roads for commuters at peak times. That’s without mentioning the health hazards and polluting effects of the vehicles, which are almost certainly only driving very short distances.
Protects bikes from the elements
Adequate cycle shelters protect bicycles from unpredictable weather conditions. The best bikes are certainly not cheap, and rain can cause costly physical damage while excessive heat can make rubber and plastic parts brittle or cause them to wear down. From a bike owner’s point of view, leaving an expensive bike exposed to the elements all day is less preferable than bringing the car.
Good-quality bike shelters help to keep two-wheelers in top condition for longer.
Safeguarding cycles from theft
No one wants to have their bike stolen, whether yours is a top-end model or not. Crime data reveals that more than 375,000 bikes are stolen in the UK annually. They’re sought-after machines, and often a prime target for thieves, while increasingly stretched police resources make it hard to get cycles returned.
With secure bike storage this all but eliminates the problem. At school or work, you know you’ll be returning to a machine that’s in exactly the same place and condition you left it in.
Keeping vandals at bay
Theft isn’t the only irritation which frustrates cyclists. Bike vandalism can be incredibly annoying, and damage your model to the extent that it’s a write-off. Parts can be damaged beyond repair, or, for example, a wheel removed or mangled.
Helping you meet your environmental goals
Whether you’re a school or a business, you’ll need to work towards certain aims to reducing your carbon footprint in line with Net Zero legislation. Bike sheds are tangible proof you take environmental issues seriously, and excellent PR if, you’re bidding for new work.
Staff retention and satisfaction
Staff these days want green options for getting to work, and the convenience of being able to leave the car at home. Decent bike storage facilities can make a real difference to daily life. They show you as an organisation care about eco-friendly travel, the health of your staff and the security of their possessions, and include staff members who don’t drive and may not otherwise be able to get to work.
Potentially, cycling can of course also be combined with train travel for commuters living further away.
The obvious health benefits
Experts describe cycling as one of the best types of low-impact exercise, offering a broad line-up of benefits, including a stronger heart, lungs and blood vessels – plus there are the mental health advantages. What’s more, biking is a way of incorporating exercise into a daily routine.
Cycling UK says biking is associated with a lower chance of dying from both cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Staff or pupils could miss out on all of this, and the school and business on their increased productivity if they are forced to use other forms of transport.
The environmental benefits
We probably all have some sense of biking as a ‘green’ transport option. But, to be specific, producing bikes in the first place takes minimal fossil fuels, while the riding of these machines reduces air and noise pollution. There are no carbon emissions from cycling, while clearly even e-bikes are a lot eco-friendlier than the alternatives.
Set kids up for life
By encouraging safe cycling as part of a healthy lifestyle, you could spark a lifelong love of biking among your pupils. And you could combine cycle shelters with training through the government’s Bikeability scheme (previously the Cycling Proficiency test) and discuss them as part of classroom sessions on environmental issues.
Bike shelters from Kensington Systems
At Kensington Systems, we’re one of Britain’s most trusted manufacturers of bike shelters, with decades of experience to our name. Talk to us today about how we could quickly and efficiently install these facilities at your school, place of work or other premises.
