Affiliations: [a] Department of Tourism, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, Warsaw, Poland
| [b] Institute of Physical Culture Sciences, Faculty of Health and Physical Education, University of Szczecin, Szczecin, Poland
| [c] Department of Physiology, Institute for Sport – National Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Elżbieta Biernat, Department of Tourism, Warsaw School of Economics, Collegium of World Economy, al. Niepodległości 162; 02-554 Warsaw, Poland. E-mail: [email protected].
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Cycling to work has been promoted all over the world. Contemporary employers invest in human capital (create a friendly work environment, care about the quality of life and health of employees). OBJECTIVES:The aim of this study was to evaluate the popularity of cycling to work and the motivations and barriers to this activity. METHODS:The study used data obtained from the survey Using cycling in everyday transportation conducted at the request of the Ministry of Sport and Tourism. The data were collected by means of computer-assisted personal interviewing (CAPI). RESULTS:A mere 9.9% of Poles commute to work by bike, but they cycle to work on a regular basis (68.6% of respondents do this several times a week for 1 to 6 months). They mostly cycle to improve/maintain health and physical fitness and for reasons concerning environmental protection. According to 49.5% of respondents, the infrastructure at the workplace is insufficient for commuting by bike. A substantial problem is the lack of changing rooms or places to change clothes (44.0%) and no access to showers (22.2%). In the opinions of 66.7%, the promotion of regular commuting to work by bike requires extension of the cycling infrastructure. CONCLUSIONS:The results indicate the necessity of employers’ investment in the infrastructure and cycling facilities.
Keywords: Human capital, health-promoting activities, Poles, bicycle
