WASHINGTON — Amazon is adding a new commuter benefit for its employees to encourage bicycling to work.
The company announced a new program Thursday to reimburse employees up to $400 a month for the costs of using a bicycle to commute to work.
The benefit can reimburse the cost of using a bike-sharing program, parking and even maintenance to cover two tune-ups a year. Amazon said the benefits are available to all employees who haven’t signed up for ongoing parking in an Amazon parking garage.
The company added it will also offer bike cages for employees to store their bikes. It added that most of its corporate offices have showers for bikers to get ready at work.
The monthly benefit varies from city to city; Amazon has a large corporate presence in Seattle, Bellevue, Washington; Arlington, Virginia and Nashville, Tennessee. In Seattle, the company said more than 20% of employees walk or bike to work.
“We are looking forward to welcoming our employees back to our offices and want to encourage them to rethink the way they get to and from work, so we’re creating new incentives to pick a greener way to commute—even if it is just one to two days a week,” said John Schoettler, vice president of Global Real Estate and Facilities.
Schoettler added: “Reducing our carbon footprint is a multifaceted effort that includes building urban and well-connected campuses, designing buildings that use renewable energy, and making it easy for employees to choose public transportation over their single-occupancy vehicles.”