Telecoms giant KPN has increased the amount it pays staff in travel expenses to 40 cents per kilometre if they cycle.

That means the company’s bike enthusiasts can “earn” 17 cents a kilometre more than someone who uses a car to get to work. In addition, KPN has set up a bicycle lease system for its 10,000 members of staff, NOS said.

Employers can pay a kilometre rate of up to 21 cents per kilometre tax free so KPN staff will have to pay income tax over their “extra earnings”.

“The rules have to change,” Esther van Garderen, director of cycling union Fietsersbond told NOS. “If we increase the number of people commuting to work by bike there are all sorts of benefits: fewer traffic jams, healthier workers, less road expansion and less car parking, let alone the pollution reduction.”

Several other companies are also working to make cycling a more attractive option including De Volksbank and the province of Friesland. Drinking water company Vitens has also made a similar step. It offers a 35 cents a kilometre payment to all staff who cycle or walk to work.

In 2022, the 21-cent maximum will be increased to 22 cents.

Organisations can also set up a company bike scheme for staff, but the bike is then treated like a lease car and workers have to pay a few euros tax.