Dero Awarded Gold Bicycle Friendly Business

March 9th, 2010

Dero Bike Rack Company is honored to receive the League of American Bicyclists Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) Gold Award. It is truly an honor to be one of the most bicycle friendly businesses in the nation. We believe that bicycling is a solution to many problems, and it also makes for a happy, healthy and productive team.  See the below press release from the League.

The League of American Bicyclists Announces
Winter 2010 Bicycle Friendly Businesses

Washington, D.C. - March 9, 2010 - The League of American Bicyclists announces 51 new Bicycle Friendly Business (BFB) award winners at the 10th Anniversary National Bike Summit in Washington, D.C., March 9. “The League is especially excited to recognize the 2010 winter BFB winners at the 10th Anniversary National Bike Summit,” said Andy Clarke. “The BFB program, along with the Summit, marks the progress the bike movement and business world has made to make bicycling a viable form of transportation and an integral element to happy, healthy and productive employees.”

BFB recipients include nine gold winners: Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin; Dero Bike Rack Company; Mercy General Hospital; Planet Bike; Specialized Bicycle Components; The Hub of Detroit; Trek Bicycle Corporation; University of California, Santa Barbara; and Wheel & Sprocket, Inc.

This round of Bicycle Friendly Businesses was distinctive because of the geographic location of awarded businesses. The majority of winners are located in the Midwest – further proving that you can bike to work regardless of climate and that any state, community or business can be bicycle-friendly – and were from a varied group of businesses. “This group represented a broad range of industries, from world renowned technology firms and hoteliers to hospital and non-profits,” said Bill Nesper, Director of the Bicycle Friendly America Program. “These Bicycle Friendly Businesses, are clearly making a difference for employees, customers, and communities.” Winners include not only bicycle-related businesses but companies like Ameriprise Financial, Corporate Headquarters; PayPal, Inc.; and International Business Machines-IBM Rochester, MN – all three with 3,000-plus employees.

There are a lot of very simple, effective and creative ways that companies are finding to get people back on their bikes, and the League is proud to recognize the efforts of working America to make our nation a more bike-friendly place. Mercy General Hospital in Sacramento, Calif., has reduced the number of parking spaces they need at the hospital by convincing people to ride their bikes to work. “We determined that it was less expensive to pay people to ride their bike to work than to add more parking spaces,” said Dave Brandeberry, Manager of Mercy General Hospital’s Cycling Program.

Companies across the country are realizing that getting their employees moving – either to or from work, in course of work, or even in their own time – is good for business. The BFB program provides a roadmap to all businesses that apply, providing a step-by-step plan to further improve their bicycle friendliness.

This is the fourth time BFB winners have been named since the program’s inception in 2008, marks the ongoing success of the program and continued momentum amongst businesses to provide a more bike-friendly environment. Applying for BFB recognition is easy and free. Applicants receive technical assistance from the League staff as well as tools to evaluate and assess their bicycle friendliness through the application process. The BFB application is available online at www.bicyclefriendlybusiness.org. Click here to see our winter 2010 winners. Click here to see a complete list of winners.

The Bicycle Friendly Community and Bicycle Friendly Business programs are generously supported by program partners Bikes Belong and Trek Bicycle’s One World, Two Wheels Campaign.

Dero ZAP – Technology That Pays You to Bike to Work

January 22nd, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Minneapolis, Minnesota (January 22, 2010) – The Federal Bicycle Commuter Act was signed into law on October 3, 2008. This legislation allows employers to give employees who commute by bike a monthly tax free stipend of up $20. This benefit is modeled after the federal vanpool and transit commuter tax benefit.

The Dero Bike Rack Company in Minneapolis, Minnesota, an industry leader in bike parking, has come up with a system to make administering this commuting benefit a snap. The Dero ZAP is a solar powered, wifi connected, radio frequency identification system (RFID) that records the number of times a commuter arrives by bike, then transmits the data via wifi to a central website that administrators can access to create reports for payroll.

“The technology is similar to the “Fast Pass” RFID tags used on toll roads and high occupancy vehicle lanes, only this technology is used to reduce the number of cars on the road, improve commuter health, and make workers more productive, alert and happy” says Mike Anderson, product manager for Dero ZAP.

When the bike commuter arrives at work or on campus and passes within the read zone of a Dero ZAP device it recognizes the tag which is registered to a specific employee. It acknowledges the read with an audible beep and flashing light. The commuter can also log onto the website to confirm the read or to review their commutes for the month.

There may be additional health insurance reimbursement opportunities for participants as well, similar to health club reimbursement programs or any type of rewards program or departmental competitions a company might want to set up.

The Dero ZAP provides you with a reliable, tamperproof and easy way for companies, universities, government institutions or other organizations to accurately count, track and issue a report on bike commuter trips.

Dero Bike Racks donates 15% of all sales to Freiker, a non-profit, based in Colorado. Freiker pioneered the technology and provides the ZAP units to k-12 schools, developing early, healthy habits in kids. Dero provides units to university, government and corporate campuses.

Contact:

Mike Anderson

mike@dero.com

888-337-6729

http://www.dero.com/products/zap

New Dero Decker Takes Bike Parking To The Next Level

January 15th, 2010

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Minneapolis, Minnesota (January 15, 2010) – The Dero Bike Rack Company, an industry leader in bike parking, has developed an innovative new, two-level bike parking system, the Dero Decker.

By stacking bikes on a two-tiered system, bike parking capacity doubles. Unlike other double decker systems, our lift-assist top trays slide down to just inches from the ground, requiring only minimal lifting of the bike to secure it into the tray. The patent pending Dero Decker has a front wheel safety locking lever and tray dampers to provide safe lowering of upper trays.

Rolf Scholtz, founder of Dero Bike Racks says, “We were really looking to make the Dero Decker the most space efficient two-level bike parking system on the market”.  The vertical load trays effectively reduce the required aisle space, giving the system the smallest footprint of any two level bike parking system available. This efficient use of space is ideal for bike centers, bike rooms and parking garages where space is at a premium.

The Dero Decker is modular and available in single and double-sided configurations.

For more information contact: Dero Bike Racks, sales@dero.com, 800-357-7574 or www.dero.com/products/derodecker

Bicycle Awareness Ads

December 31st, 2009

Transport for London has produced a couple of very clever bicycle awareness spots that are airing in the UK. The ads are both amusing and enlightening to drivers who may not be accustomed to looking for bicyclists sharing the road with their vehicle.  Have a look…