YWCA of Adelaide is a non-profit young women's leadership organisation who are mindful of the environment, and of the health and wellbeing of their staff.

Their staff travel around the CBD for meetings often. From their Hutt Street office, it's a 30 minute walk to Parliament House. If the weather doesn't suit walking, that means struggling to find a car park and/ or facing a parking fine (if their meeting runs longer than expected), or spending money on taxis.

The YWCA of Adelaide received a DPTI Community Grant in 2011 to purchase two office bikes. Several staff already rode to work so there was an existing bike-riding culture among some employees. Other staff were encouraged to begin riding by talking about the bikes, and sharing stories of the benefits (less stress, fresh air, relaxing, quicker than driving, don't have to look for a car park, easy access, and the list goes on). They also held a training session where staff learned about bike maintenance and could 'come and try'.

The YWCA of Adelaide also found that having two bikes was a key to their success. Communications Manager Chelsea Lewis said, "When you can create a buddy system for when two people are travelling to a meeting, it is a positive means of support for someone who might be riding for the first time, or for someone who might need a prompt not to reach for the car keys."

Senior management was supportive of the project as it met several objectives such as using time wisely, encouraging health and wellbeing among staff, and reducing the YWCA of Adelaide's impact on the environment.

Staff surveys conducted over a six month period showed that almost all staff embraced riding around the city and to near-city meetings. Prior to purchasing the bikes, the main form of travel to meetings within 3km of the office was by car. The final survey revealed 60% of staff have used the bikes more than they thought they would and over half of staff had used the bikes at least once a week (some at least three times a week). Further, a third of staff said they mostly used the office bikes when attending a meeting within 3km of the office.

"It has made such a difference to my attitude to heading out to meetings. I love riding around the city. It is so easy to park the bike right where I need to be. There are lots of bike racks around. I feel like I'm doing a touch of exercise too. They rock!"

YWCA of Adelaide staff member