Bike To A Better Work
Cycling to work is easier than ever! Enjoy a smooth, stress-free commute with FREE and secure Bike Valet right at Vancouver City Centre. Pair your ride with transit for a seamless multimodal journey!
My mum always says I’m lucky to have a job that lets me work with so much flexibility. At BEST, we have a work policy that’s a lot like Patagonia’s Let My People Go Surfing. The idea is simple: as long as you get your work done and your absence doesn’t affect your team, you can take time off -because good waves don't wait until 5 p.m. That’s one of the many reasons I’m grateful to work at BEST’s Bike Valet. I get to collaborate with great clients and help promote, advocate for, and make active transportation more accessible. All while enjoying the perks of a flexible schedule (I’m writing this post at a small café while my friend takes an online class next to me.)
Thinking about different work environments, one client stands out: Cadillac Fairview. In collaboration with the City of Vancouver, TransLink, and the Downtown BIA, they host a seasonal Bike Valet location right beside the Vancouver City Centre SkyTrain station. This prime spot saw over 2,000 bikes in 2024, a number that’s only expected to grow as more cyclists hit the road this summer. What’s cool is that this whole initiative started because Cadillac Fairview wanted to encourage its own employees to bike to work during the summer. An incredible initiative!
With this year’s Bike Valet at that location running for 78 days (from June 16 to September 1), I got curious… What does it really feel like to bike to work? Since we rarely go to the office at BEST, I picked a café near Robson Square to work from this week and planned my trip to get there using the fastest multimodal route.
I started my trip by catching the 99 B-Line at Macdonald Street. I racked my bike on the front of the bus -quick and easy. The reason why I chose to take the bus instead of biking the whole way is because the 99 is a rapid bus, which means fewer stops and a quicker ride across the city. Once I got off near Granville, I grabbed my bike and got ready to ride-after a quick pit stop at the bookstore on Granville and West Broadway to grab my next read.
Helmet on, and I was off -pedaling across the Granville Bridge with a full view around me: Burnaby on the right, West Vancouver far off on the left, and downtown rising in front of me. I expected the bridge to be a challenge, but it was actually smoother than it looked. I was relieved, and a little proud, by how manageable the ride was. When I arrived, I spotted our awesome Bike Valet staff and happily handed over my bike. They locked it up securely, and I strolled just a few blocks to my café of choice.
Sitting down with a coffee in hand, a chocolate chip cookie on the side, and my laptop open, I felt nothing but grateful. My mum’s right -I am lucky to work like this. But what makes me even happier is seeing more and more people, like the Cadillac Fairview team and all the riders who use our Bike Valet, get the chance to enjoy the summer and ride into a better workday.
Bike Valet is people powered parking for your bike, or anything that rolls 🚲🛴 powered by BEST Mobility. Made possible thanks to the support of our partners: City of Vancouver (Walk Bike Roll Vancouver), Downtown BIA, Cadillac Fairview & Translink