Biker friendly business
Take 100 old bicycles and make 40 new
ones...
Eawag
received the award of „Biker Friendly Company 2004“ together with 4
other Swiss Companies. This award has been bestowed for the fourth time by IG
Velo Schweiz on the occasion of the ‚Prix Pegasus’ (see report of the jury [pdf]). In 2009 Eawag received the award again (see report of the jury [pdf]).
Both Eawag sites at Dübendorf and Kastanienbaum are easily reachable by public
transport, except for the last mile. Thanks to a row of biker friendly offers
this gap has been reduced. The offers are very well used and will be further
extended in stages.
Core areas of these offers are:
- Secure bicycle stands. At the Stettbach station Eawag has rented space in a building in order to offer secure, vandal-proof parking spaces for bikes. The parked bikes are insured against theft and vandalism. Rent and insurance for the building are paid by Eawag. This depot also offers a repairs corner with tools and storage space for luggage (this is not insured). The other railway stations offer public guarded bicycle depots. Expenses incurred by employees for the use of these installations will be refunded by Eawag.
- «One-day hire». It has long been possible to borrow a bike for short-term use. This offer has recently been substantially improved and extended. The bikes are regularly checked and are in very good condition.
- «Long-term hire». Eawag also offers bikes on long-term hire from minimum 1 week to maximum 1 year. Hire is free of charge, but a deposit is requested. This facility is basically for trainees, students, PhDs and long-term guests.
This offer was made possible by marking and collecting – after two months waiting period - orphaned, broken bikes on the company grounds and repairing them at our own workshop. Over 100 defective bikes were used to obtain 40 refurbished bicycles that were transferred to the Eawag pool. This led to a general clean-up of the company grounds. A call for bikes made to our staff resulted in additional bikes for the pool, some of high quality. Long-term hire can be requested at the Eawag workshop (Mr. P. Gäumann) Day hire is available on request at the reception desk (Mrs. M. Huber, G. Kälin, L. Waldispühl)