An advertising agency in Christchurch, New Zealand is offering its employees cash to cycle to work in an attempt to encourage physical exercise and move away from the reliance on cars and public transport.

Employees of Make Collective will receive $NZ5 ($AU4.65) a day for the round trip.

But if employees cycle to work for more than half the year, the incentive will double to $NZ10 ($AU9.31) per day.

The business says it will be paid out to employees as a bonus at the end of the year.

That means if an employee rode to work every day for a year, they could receive a bonus of up to $NZ1,950 ($AU1,815).

The head of the company Tim Chesney told Stuff.co.nz that he hopes the scheme will encourage a long-term, rather than just a one-off.

“For a while I had been thinking it would be great to incentivise cycling in some way. I’m a really keen cyclist [and] cash is clearly the most obvious incentive,” he told the publication.

“My gut instinct is that it could be something really good for the workplace. I know for myself I show up feeling a lot more energised, my blood is already flowing.”

An obstacle for some employees is that there are no shower facilities in the building, but Chesney said that they may negotiate with the gym across the road for a shower-only membership.

Read more on Stuff.co.nz.

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