Workride vs Northride: The NZ Ride to Work Scheme Guide for Employers and Employees

Ride-to-work schemes are a new, practical way to save money when buying a brand new bike in New Zealand. These schemes are pre-tax salary sacrifice programs that allow employees to lease (then own) bikes for commuting while saving significantly on the price. At Cycleways, we offer this through two schemes, WorkRide and NorthRide, that your employer would need to be signed up with. This article is for both employers and employees and will walk you through the benefits and how they work.

How Does the NZ Ride to Work Scheme Work?

Cycleways is an approved provider of WorkRide and NorthRide. They work slightly different, but the process is similar.

The process of buying the bike.

1. First, the employer needs to be signed up with WorkRide or NorthRide.
2. The employee requests approval from their employer and gets a unique ID.
3. The employee contacts us and we help them find their new bike and submits the order to WorkRide or NorthRide.
4. The employer reviews and approves the order.
5. Once approved and finalised, the employee collects the bike!

What it means for the employee and their salary.

• The cost of the bike is deducted from the employee's salary before tax (that's the salary sacrifice part).
• The employee leases the bike from the employer for the length of the scheme.
• At the end of the scheme, the employee has the option to keep or return the bike.

Workride vs Northride — What's the Difference?

Both schemes are salary sacrifice programs, but there are some important differences around who funds the bike, scheme length and how employers and employees sign up.

	WorkRide	NorthRide
Scheme Length	12 months	24 months
Employee Savings	32-63%	15-40%
Who Funds It	Your Employer	NorthRide
Fee	5%	0%
Can Include Servicing	No	Yes
Employer Sign Up	workride.co.nz	northride.co.nz
Employee Sign Up	workride.co.nz	NorthRide app
End of Scheme	Keep or Return	Keep or Return
Savings Estimator	Yes	Coming Soon

 

For Employees — Which Scheme Is Right for You?

WorkRide is New Zealand's first ride-to-work benefit scheme. NorthRide is an established company that's now operating in New Zealand. If you're employer offered both schemes, here's an summary of each one's strength and if it's worth doing a ride-to-work scheme.

WorkRide's strengths:

• Widespread adoption across NZ
  
• Shorter 12 month commitment
• Maximum tax savings
  

NorthRide strengths:

• Longer 24 month commitment
  
• Bike servicing can be included
  
• Good for smaller business that can't fund the cost of the bike up front

Can You Use These Schemes to Get an E-Bike?

Yes, e-bikes are one of the most popular categories right now. You can use both WorkRide and NorthRide ride-to-work benefit schemes. Shop our range of e-bikes.

Getting Started at Cycleways, Christchurch Bike Shop

We are an experienced WorkRide and NorthRide provider with a knowledgeable team that can help you with both schemes. Once your company is setup on either scheme, we're more than happy to help you find that next ride. You can get an idea for what bike you want on the website now. Shop bikes.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What is a ride-to-work scheme NZ?
  These are pre-tax salary sacrifice programs that allow employees to lease (then own) bikes for commuting while saving significantly on the price. Rather than paying for a bike with after-tax income (like you usually would), the price of the bike offsets your pre-tax income, which is how you save. These schemes provide the interface to help facilitate that and handle all of the accounting and risk for you and your employer.
• What are the disadvantages of the cycle to work scheme?
  Your employer must be signed up, employees can't participate independently.
  You have to comment to a term of 12 or 24 months. If you leave your job before the scheme ends, the remaining balance is settled through your final pay or a direct payment.
  
• What happens at the end of the scheme? At the end of the term (12 months for WorkRide, 24 months for NorthRide), you have the option to return it or keep it.
• How does insurance work? Most contents insurance policies cover items you're legally responsible for. Check with your insurance provider for specifics.
• Can I really get a free e-bike? No? Apparently there's a myth out there that you can get a free e-bike. Nothing is free, but there are significant savings going through these schemes. WorkRide is generally  32-63% and NorthRide is generally 15-40% off.
• Who pays for the bike to work scheme? The employee pays through pre-tax salary, so the tax saving means they pay less overall.

Why Choose Cycleways?

We're familiar with these schemes and use them regularly. We're here to answer all of your questions and make purchasing a ride-to-work benefit bike as straightforward an experience as possible at Cycleways.

Our team has the bike experience and knowledge to offer you the best advice and help you find the perfect bike.

Click-and-collect + nationwide shipping. All bikes are first properly built by us and test ridden at our Christchurch shop before being carefully re-boxed to ship to you.

Post-sale service is important to keep your bike riding well. For Christchurch customers, we have a fully-capable and experienced workshop for all your bike servicing needs. For nationwide customers, we're just a phone call away.