Earlier in the year, we told you about how every day is Bike to Work Day at Dero. You might wonder, how do we track our daily commuting, and what do those metrics look like? That’s where Dero ZAP comes in, our commuter wellness program. With a few clicks, anyone signed up can see how times they rode into work, the amount of CO2 they’ve reduced, the number of calories burned and gallons of gas saved. At Dero, we recently surpassed 14,000 miles biked for 2017!

Not familiar with ZAP? Watch this short video and continue reading below!

Did you know that Dero ZAP isn’t just for business commuter programs? Programs have been successfully launched at campuses across the US. Recently, our ZAP Specialist Tony Spaaij interviewed Kimberly Reeves, the Sustainability Program Manager at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Read on to learn about the implementation, results, and highlights of their Dero ZAP program.

Tony: Why did you choose ZAP?

Kimberly: Dero ZAP was the only all-in-one program we could find. Their RFID tags allowed for easy participation that helped move our bike incentive program away from self-reporting. And the online dashboard provides easy access to information for both participants and program managers.

What is your favorite part of using ZAP?

My favorite part of using Dero ZAP are the affirming stories from participants. Our front runner is a facilities staff person, and he’ll be the first to tell you how far ahead of the second place rider he is. There’s also a chemistry professor who can’t get enough of the ‘chirp’ every time he gets to campus. He says it’s like a little cheer that he biked another day; he rides for the health benefits.

What was your experience implementing the program and getting people to participate?

Thanks to our Facilities Services staff, we were fortunate enough to get our first (of five) stations installed before our annual Bike Jam/Bike to Campus Day. At that one event, we were able to sign-up 60 participants. Since then, we’ve held more, smaller bike events and are currently at 85 participants. I think our riders appreciate the elimination of self-reporting data. We’re hoping this upcoming year, since we have all five stations installed as of March 2017, we’ll have more participation.

What have your results been since implementing the program?

That original station is by-far the most frequented, but the data has shown two other entrances on campus that personally, I don’t see on a daily basis and wouldn’t have expected that much traffic. These stats will help advocate for bike infrastructure in these priority areas.

What is your favorite program feature?

My favorite program feature is the ease of randomly handing-out prizes. I’m able to give a concrete goal for the month, and the dashboard provides the ability to sort, draw a winner and automatically alert them with an email. This feature also helps us keep a more accurate inventory of prizes.

Why is it important to promote wellness at your organization?

With the location of our campus on a bluff and 15-30 minutes from amazing hiking trails (not to mention the trails on campus,) promoting wellness seems to be a way of life at UCCS. Active living not only keeps us healthy, but also hopefully provides ways in which we can deal with life’s stresses in a positive way.

And how does ZAP contribute to promoting wellness?

Dero ZAP has been a forum for talking about why colleagues bike to campus. These conversations sometimes involve saving money on parking or reducing their use of single-occupancy vehicles, but no matter the reason, health is usually a main factor.

Interested in learning more about how you can start a Dero ZAP program? Register for a webinar or contact us!