Bike2Work 2016 is over – keep on pedalling!
142 CERN teams cycled more than twice around the Earth in the thirteenth year of Switzerland’s Bike2Work initiative.
Teams cycle to work at CERN’s Meyrin site in June, as part of Bike2Work 2016. (Image: Sophia Bennett/CERN)
A record number of 142 CERN teams battled June rain to achieve ninth place in this year’s SwissBike2Work competition, in terms of the number of participating teams.
Close to 54,000 employees from more than 1700 companies and organisations took part in this annual, national campaign, launched in 2004.
It aims to encourage commuters to grab a helmet and travel on two wheels, improving fitness and reducing congestion on the roads.
Overall, the CERN teams cycled 97,091 kilometres; amounting to a 15,000 kg reduction in carbon dioxide emissions, compared to what would have been produced by cars.
A 15% participation rate also placed us third among companies with 1000-5000 employees.
Both the École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich (ETH) had more teams than CERN: 149 EPFL teams cycled over two months and 209 ETH teams cycled over one month.
But it was the Paul Scherrer Institute’s 67 teams who were crowned victorious in terms of distance cycled, accumulating an impressive 140,000 kilometres over May and June.
Despite this year’s Bike2Work being over, there is no reason to put your bike away: a new cycle path is under construction between CERN’s two sites and more showers are being installed.
What are you waiting for? Sign up to “Bike To CERN through the year” and join the ever-growing list of people adopting a healthier, more eco-friendly commute to work.
| Bike2Work: facts & figures 2016 Participating companies/organisations 1,773 Teams 14,171 Participants 53,922 Total km 10,250,969 CO2-equivalents (kg) 1,640,155 |
