Leasing firm wheels out company bike scheme in Luxembourg

(JB) A Luxembourg leasing firm is expanding its company car service to offer company bikes, as part of its environmentally-aware ethos.

ALD announced this week that starting next year customers in Luxembourg can sign up to a company bike or gain a fleet of pool bikes for their staff to use.

“The 2017 fiscal reform and a government that favours company bikes, creates a positive context for launching the leasing bike,” assistant administrator Dominque Roger said.

ALD's proposed service works the same way as a leasing of company cars. Customers may select their preferred brand and bike type- be it an electric, folding, mountain or road bike.

The package includes insurance and security features and each lease is offered over a period of 24, 36 or 48 months. And there is an option to purchase the bike at the end of the contract period.

Under the pool bike system, the company offers a fleet of six bikes, which includes maintenance, guarantees, assistance and the option of a replacement bike.

Luxembourg City and the Infrastructure Ministry has made unprecendented investments in encouraging bike use in the country in recent years.

Already, there exists over 600 kilometres of cycle paths in the country, and 156 in the capital where a vast network of hop-on-hop-off rental bikes has been available for several years.

New policies appear to be paying off as the capital reported a 6.9 % increase in bike use from 2014 to 2015. Even the European Cyclists' Federation views the country's steps to encourage cycling positively, rating Luxembourg 13th in Europe in its 2014 Cycling Barometer, up from 19 in 2013.

This project is aimed at commuters who have a shorter distance to travel to work of five kilometres or less. For some people it could be the distance from a P+R carpark to the office or from office to client.

ALD says it launched the company bike service in Belgium a year ago where around 700 company bikes are in operation.