What is a mobility plan?

March 1, 2021

Every day, our roads see many workers passing by on their way to and from work. The majority of them still use the car as a means of transport. 

These car journeys cause mobility problems such as traffic jams, without noting that the environmental impact generated by these road users is also significant. 

The companies' mobility plan has been put in place to optimize these work-related trips

The concept of a mobility plan

The mobility plan is a set of measures aimed at optimizing travel for business activities: home-to-work trips, transportation of goods, business trips, etc. As the aim of this plan is to reduce polluting emissions and road traffic, the emphasis is placed on encouraging alternatives to private cars

This plan is part of an environmental strategy that is encouraged by the public authorities

What is a mobility plan company

Is the mobility plan an obligation?

In France: The mobility plan has been mandatory since January 1, 2018 for any company with more than 100 employees. 

In June 2019, the Loi d'Orientation de Mobilités (LOM) lowers this threshold to include all establishments with more than 50 employees.

In Belgium:

  • Brussels-Capital: The company travel plan is mandatory for any company with more than 100 employees working on the same site. 

  • In Wallonia: The company travel plan is not mandatory.

  • In Flanders: The company travel plan is not mandatory.

The advantages of the mobility plan

As a federating project with multiple managerial tools, the mobility plan helps to highlight good practices and identify potential problems related to mobility.

Here are the advantages of a mobility plan in the corporate ecosystem:

On a social level 

The mobility plan improves the comfort of employee travel (less stress, fatigue, saves time, etc.), therefore improving their quality of life. 

On the economic level

The plan will shed light on the transport budget, which is often integrated into the overall costs and therefore unknown to companies.

In addition, by rationalizing home-to-work journeys and, above all, by limiting travel, it will have a positive effect on reducing the transport budget and allow better optimization of car fleet and parking management.

This will also have an impact on employees, who will see their travel expenses decrease.

On the environmental front

Acting on employee travel will have the effect of reducing environmental pollution as well as noise pollution.

Promoting alternative solutions will reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions, which will help preserve the environment for future generations.

At the image level

Any company setting up a mobility plan will convey an image of a committed and responsible company both internally and externally, since it promotes its image as a company that cares about its employees and its environment.

The elaboration of a mobility plan

Several steps are necessary for the elaboration of the business travel plan: diagnosis, action plan, financing plan, drafting of a schedule for carrying out the actions ,and monitoring and updating procedures.

In order to assist you in this process and to help you understand the elaboration protocol, some metropolises provide you with toolboxes composed of digital files (for companies) as well as its network of economic developers.

mobility plan promotion of public transportation within the company

Examples of elements to be integrated into your mobility plan

Promoting the use of bicycles

You can provide your employees with a bike garage where they can safely leave their bikes during their working day. You can also encourage your employees to come by bike by setting up a bike mileage allowance, or by making company bikes available to them. 

Want to dive into the details and learn more about promoting the use of bicycles in the workplace? Discover this article - 4 tips to encourage your employees to use bicycles

Improving pedestrian access

Make sure that access to your business is easy for pedestrians by providing pedestrian walkways and entrances.

Encouraging the use of public transportation

Participate or reimburse your employees' subscriptions in full, or provide a company shuttle to cover areas without public transport. It is very important to communicate regularly about the use of public transportation; to talk about all the possibilities and explain to all employees the different advantages of using it to get to your premises. 

To find out about all the initiatives you can take to encourage your employees to use public transportation, we recommend this article - How to promote public transportation within your company?

Implementing telework

Allow your employees to work from home if they wish to on a regular basis. Participate in some of the costs associated with working from home. This will reduce the need to commute to work. 

Interested in the subject of teleworking? Discover our article: 3 reasons why you should allow your employees to continue to telework

Incentivizing carpooling

Utilize partnerships with carpooling companies such as Blablacar, Karzoo or iDVROOM, who put you in contact internally or with other companies close to the site, setting up places reserved for "carpoolers", carpool vouchers, etc.

Want to know more about implementing carpooling in your company? Here is an article on this subject: - How can you encourage carpooling within your company?

Promoting the use of parking management software

Parking management software will give you the opportunity to create and manage parking initiatives that allow for optimized usage. Thanks to a parking policy implemented with the software, you can set monthly parking quotas for employees, or set up bicycle and carpooling programs. 

 

Conclusion

Whether or not the implementation of a mobility plan within your company is mandatory, it can bring many benefits to the company itself and to employees. The travel plan will be specific to each company, depending on your situation, some elements will fit more easily into your plan than others. 

Want to learn more about employee mobility? This guide is made for you!

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