We sat down with Brian Gyorkos, Director of Global Safety and Security at Rubrik, to find out more about how they partnered with Ridepanda to create an incredibly successful e-bike program Rubrik employees
Rubrik is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, with offices nation-wide including Seattle, Austin and the Washington DC metro area. Each of these urban metro areas have challenging commutes and the company sought solutions that would positively impact commuting, parking congestion and the mental health and physical wellbeing of its employees.
For Rubrik, Ridepanda offered a plug and play e-bike solution that was able to create real behavioral change in the ways employees commuted to the office. Rubrik was able to create a program that used transit benefits incentives, typically applied for traditional options like vanpool and public transit passes, and opened up Ridepanda as an option for employees to use those incentives for e-bike subscriptions.
We asked Brian about his experience and here's what he had to say
- Q: How do you like to commute? And are you a Ridepanda rider?
- Brian: I have commuted by bike off and on for the past 18 years. My schedule always holds me back from biking every day, as I have two kids in competitive sports, I coach a soccer team, and I play sports myself. As I’ve gotten older, pedaling 40 miles round trip is hard to sustain for multiple days at a time, so having an e-bike alternative available through Ridepanda is great and creates more opportunities for me to bike during the week.
- Q; What are current commute preferences for employees? Do most people drive to work at your office now?
- Brian: At this time, a majority of employees still drive to work. However, as commuter traffic continues to rise, our employees are increasingly switching to alternatives such as e-biking, vanpooling, and other methods of transportation.
- Q: Why were you interested in offering this? Did you think it could convince some people to bike who might not otherwise have done that?
- Brian: I love biking to work and believe it offers a lot more freedom compared to driving. I’d much rather spend my time biking instead of being stuck behind the wheel for an hour-long commute. I’m always in favor of promoting things I truly believe in, and I think as long as you prepare accordingly, biking is a great way to commute to work.
- Q: What helped to convince you that Ridepanda was a effective solution for your employees?
- Brian: Ridepanda includes everything you need to be ready to ride, which is why it struck me as an ideal solution for employees, including those who aren’t avid cyclists yet. Ridepanda is committed to staying with the rider throughout their journey into cycling. And, that helps to drive long term behavior change.
- Q: Do you cover the full cost of the subscription, or just subsidize it?
- Brian: At Rubrik, we subsidize up to $200 per month, which allows employees to cover the full cost of the subscription in most cases. Only full size cargo bike subscriptions are above the $200 amount, but in that case the employee only needs to cover the remainder whicg greately reduces their out of pocket expense.
- Q: What results have you seen so far- how many people have subscribed, and how is it changing their driving patterns?
- Brian: Everyday we are seeing more and more bikes arrive at the office and we see them every day. So much so that we have recently launched with Ridepanda at our Seattle and Austin offices as well.
- Q: It looks like your office is in a suburban part of Palo Alto/Los Altos, is that right? How challenging (or not) is it to bike there?
- Brian: I commute from Fremont across the Dumbarton Bridge in the Bay Area which, on e-bike, actually saves me around 15 minutes compared to driving. By and large, there are some pretty good roads for biking to and from work. The most challenging part is Page Mill Road, as there isn’t a bike lane from the 101 freeway to El Camino.
The Ridepanda experience for Brian at Rubrik in not uncommon. Companies with existing transit benefits incentives for vanpool, parking or public transit, are rapidly discovering that they can add an e-bike option for their employees without the need for additional budgets.
The Ridepanda team can guide you through the process and get you up and running in a matter of weeks.