Five top tips for cycling to work at Milton Park

Bike to work benefits at Milton Park

Whether you’re new to cycling or a seasoned active commuter, read on to find out how we can help you get into the saddle for your journey to work.

1) FREE cycle hire

If you work at Milton Park, you can hire our bikes and ebikes for free by signing up to the Donkey Republic app with your work email address. On the app, you’ll be able to see where the bikes and ebikes are located around the Park and at Didcot Parkway train station – available to use for up to 48 hours without being charged.

There are a total of 28 bikes available to hire – 12 of which are ebikes (pictured below left). Their batteries are changed every two weeks by our maintenance teams. However, we recommend you check the battery level on your ebike before your set off to ensure it has at least two bars. If not, you can recharge the battery at the cycle shelter in the Bee House or go to the Security Hut – where you can also swap the battery for a fully charged one.

Last year we upgraded our 16 of our regular bikes with bright orange frames and sturdier baskets (pictured right) for safer road use. Helmets are also available to borrow from the Bee House.

More information here.

2) FREE breakfast when you Bike2Work

On the first Wednesday of each month, from March until November, enjoy a free takeaway breakfast and drink from the Pierreponts Café at the Innovation Centre (99 Park Drive) when you cycle to work at Milton Park. Participants must sign up to Bike2Work at least 48 hours in advance.

Find more information on each of our monthly Bike2Work events here: www.miltonpark.com/events/

3) FREE bike maintenance

Our Bike2Work days also have Walton Street Cycles available from 8.30am-12pm outside the Innovation Centre for its free Bike Doctor sessions, solving all your bike maintenance needs while you have a bite to eat.

4) Find a cycle buddy

Fancy becoming part of our Bike Users’ Group to hear about local travel updates, connect with like-minded people and help us improve travel to and from the Park? We can even find you a cycle buddy if you are unsure of cycling a route and can ask questions about cycle to work schemes.

Email our Community and Sustainability Manager, Veronica Reynolds, to sign up and find out more: veronica.reynolds@miltonpark.com

5) Find the best cycling route

To find the best cycle route for you from Oxford, Abingdon and Didcot, we recommend using www.cyclestreets.org

We’re continuing to work closely with Oxfordshire County Council to improve cycle routes to and from Milton Park. This includes a safer route from Steventon that avoids the Milton Interchange as well as the ‘missing’ section of path from Kelaart’s Field to Peep-o-Day Lane – marked as top priorities in our 2022 Travel Survey.

At Milton Park, we aspire to improve accessibility across the area in a bid to further reduce the proportion of single occupancy car usage across the Park (which saw a 12% decrease from 2021 to 2022).

Join the crowd cycling to Milton Park

Covid-19 saw cycling levels across the country increase by a huge 300% during 2021, with people enjoying the quieter roads and forming new ways to keep active. Although peak pandemic levels have fallen slightly, data from the Department of Transport suggests these are still above pre-pandemic levels – a positive step forward.

These trends were reflected in our 2022 Travel Survey , highlighting a 4% increase in cycling between 2019 and 2022 at the Park, with the number of unique users of our bike and ebike hire scheme tripling.

With your help, we’re hoping to improve on these figures even further this year, so keep an eye out for our 2023 Travel Survey this autumn.