Planning and policy officer for active and healthy communities Robert Kretschmer said the target was set as a result of the city’s trial to use a bike fleet to attend meetings. Four bikes at four locations were made available to staff in a pilot program last year. Following a positive response council recently added 10 bikes to its fleet.

“An unintended benefit has been an increase in uptake of riding to work,” Mr Kretschmer said. “As a result, we’ve set an ambitious goal to become a bicycle-friendly organisation and have 100 staff riding to work on a regular basis by 2020.” 

In a staff survey, 93 per cent said the trial fleet was a good idea, with more than 1500km travelled. Of 64 different staff using bikes, one employee made 32 trips, the highest by an individual.

“Many staff enjoy the health, financial, environmental and productivity benefits of riding to work. It’s a win-win for staff and the organisation,” he said.