VENTURA : County Employees Ride Bikes to Work

Ventura County employees who normally commute to work by car took to the streets on bicycles Tuesday for the second annual National Bike to Work Day.

“The main objective of Bike to Work Day is to encourage employees who don’t usually commute by bike to try it,” said Alan Bandoli, county employee transportation coordinator.

About 200 county employees regularly ride their bikes to work, officials said. A count on the number of additional workers who bicycled Tuesday will not be available until Friday.

About 500 county employees attended a rally at the Government Center, where donated prizes for employees included a $350 mountain bike. A bicycle safety clinic was also offered. A second rally was held simultaneously at the Ventura County Medical Center, said Sharon Rasmussen, a spokeswoman for the county’s Employee Transportation Program.

Supervisor John K. Flynn, who broke his wrist last year while bicycling to work on Bike to Work Day, did not attend Tuesday’s event. Flynn said he has been campaigning for reelection and has not been bicycling regularly.

About 10 more county employees have started bicycling to work regularly in the past year, Rasmussen said.

“Although it doesn’t seem like a lot, it’s less emissions,” she said. “Bike commuting is a viable means of reducing air pollution.”

The Employee Transportation Program, which sponsored the rally, was created to help the county comply with the Air Pollution Control District’s Rule 210. It requires employers with at least 50 workers arriving between 6 to 10 a.m. to reduce the number of employees driving alone to work.

County workers who forgo their cars twice a week to commute are eligible for a $175 yearly bonus, Bandoli said. Those who use alternative forms of transportation three days a week earn $250, he said. Last year, about 1,300 employees earned cash awards, he said.