Our Story
Driven by a passion for positive impact and a deep understanding of the challenges facing businesses and employees, our founding team embarked on a bold, year-long journey in 2022 to bring real change to New Zealand’s workplace benefits.
Our goal? To remove the Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT) on bikes and e-bikes provided by employers for commuting—a challenge that felt like David vs. Goliath. Despite the uphill battle, we were determined to make a difference for businesses and employees alike.
We advocated tirelessly, gathering over 500 letters of support from local businesses and working alongside ministers to present our case to Parliament.
Our efforts paid off when New Zealand joined the global standard by removing FBT on bikes and e-bikes for commuting, allowing employers to provide these benefits to their staff without the tax barriers that once stood in the way.
Our journey didn’t stop there. In 2023, we understood the real work lay ahead—creating a practical, risk-free method for employers to offer this benefit to their team. Over 12 months, we worked closely with leading New Zealand businesses, listening to their concerns and designing a legal structure that would protect employers while making the program simple and easy to manage.
Building on the new legislation (CX19-D), we collaborated with Inland Revenue via the binding ruling process to develop New Zealand’s first-ever pre-tax salary sacrifice program for bikes, e-bikes, and scooters. The Workride program gives employees a 32-63% offsets on their rides while ensuring full tax compliance.
We knew the program had to require minimal administration. To make this a breeze for employers, we built our software platform connecting the retailer network to employers, making the program easily accessible with just a few clicks.
With the help of leading local councils in 2024, we rolled out the program nationwide, ensuring easy adoption for businesses of all sizes. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with businesses experiencing increased employee well-being, engagement, and sustainability.
The journey is ongoing—Workride continues to refine the benefit! We are excited to introduce a fully financed option for local councils, Crown organizations, and large employers, ensuring every Kiwi can gain access to this benefit.
What began as a David vs. Goliath story has now become a life-changing movement for over 1,000 businesses, and it is just getting started.
Thanks for the ongoing support of our business customers, consumers, retailer partners, and promotional partners.
Yours Truly,
The Workride Team & Retail Partners