Cycling to work

Regular cycling impacts your physical health through:

• Improved fitness[1] – over time this has the added benefit of improved energy levels
• Improved immunity – moderate exercise a couple of times per week makes immune cells more active, meaning that you are better able to fight illness
• Improves lung function – the increased rate of respiration experienced by exercise gives your lungs a mini endurance training session which boosts their efficiencies
• Increased brain power[2] – the increased in heart rate coupled with the increased rate of respiration provides extra oxygen to the brain, stimulating connections between cells and rejuvenating grey matter
• Longer living – exercise helps maintain a youthful biological function, even with other contributing factors such as smoking.

Improves mental health[3] – cycling encourages you to take routes that are away from the monotony of busy roads and traffic, leading to less stressful commutes. Couple this with the sights of nature and you have a recipe for a very therapeutical trip.

Cycling can have an impact on our environment:

• Zero Pollution for your commute – a five mile commute to and from work once per week can save 154kg of CO₂e per year for an average petrol car
• Switching to cycling as your only source of transport for your commute can save 770kg[1] of CO₂e per year
• This means that if everyone at Mersey Care replaced just one five mile commute to and from work with cycling, collectively we could save nearly 40 Tonnes CO₂e from entering the atmosphere. This CO₂e saving would enable Mersey Care to run its electricity usage at net zero for more than two months
• Reduces temperatures in cities – with the increased temperatures felt during summer, driving less miles and cycling more miles can limit the effects felt in cities[2]. In Liverpool, the average number of miles travelled daily is 3.7 million[3], this produces 3,370 kWh of heat energy. This is as much heat as 9,529 patio heaters running for 24 hours around the Liverpool
• Better economy – a person riding a bike will cycle with an economy equivalent to 2,924 miles to the gallon[4].

If you’re able, using a bicycle instead of a car can save money long term:

• Owning a car in UK costs the motorist on average £3,406 - £5,744 per year (including tax, insurance and fuel) which is not necessary for a bike
• Cheaper repairs – it costs considerably less to repair a bike than a car
• Cheaper purchase – a bike is much cheaper to buy than a car, in fact, you could get a high end bike (around £2,600) for less than an average second hand car (£5,000 to £7,000).

See Vivup: Cycle to work for more information on our cycle to work salary sacrifice scheme.