Smart Solutions for Sustainable Employee Mobility

When it comes to mobility for employees, many think of company cars and public transport tickets as the only options. But more and more companies are discovering sustainable solutions for their employees and are themselves benefiting from them.

Whether bicycles for hire, car sharing, train and public transport tickets or on-demand shuttle service. The range of mobility solutions is growing. Photo: Mobiko

In ten years’ time, the majority of people in large cities will be using public or alternative means of transport, not the car. This is the conclusion reached by the market research institute Kantar in its study “Mobility Futures”. Asian cities are already on the way there. According to “Green Commuter”, the commuter index compiled in the study, Asian cities are leading the way in climate-friendly commuting. Tokyo, Beijing, and Singapore occupy first to third place, due to the intensive use of public transport and the large proportion of pedestrians and cyclists. With its local transport network, London is considered the most environmentally friendly commuter city in Europe. At the same time, cycling is becoming increasingly popular, which is particularly noticeable in cities such as Paris, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen.

Goal: Saving CO2

“More and more young people are asking for more environmentally friendly mobility,” explains Dr. Olga Nevska, Managing Director at Telekom Mobility Solutions. That’s why the topic of sustainable employee mobility is becoming increasingly important for the company.

Deutsche Telekom offers its employees a wide range of mobile services such as: bicycles for hire and car sharing throughout Germany, train and public transport job tickets, an on-demand shuttle service for journeys between locations and to the train station or airport. Test phases are currently underway with e-scooters. “We are an internal mobility service provider,” explains Dr. Nevska, “and aim to cut CO2 emissions by around 40 percent by 2030.” That’s why the company is focusing on a more sustainable vehicle portfolio, expanding pooling and sharing solutions and Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS). The green car policy for management vehicles provides an employee bonus for cars with low CO2 emissions.

Enthusiasm for e-mobility

At Deutsche Telekom, company car drivers can choose from around 20 electric vehicle models. Photo: Deutsche Telekom

The company fleet is to be gradually converted to electric cars. Since February 2020, company car drivers have been able to choose from around 20 electric vehicle models. In order to get employees excited about electric cars, the company is making test vehicles available free of charge for a limited time. The car-sharing fleet also has enough electric vehicles available. In addition, e-cars can be tested at information events.

Sustainability pays off

There is no question that Deutsche Telekom invests a great deal in the sustainable mobility of its employees. This is paying off: “Employees are very interested in alternative mobility solutions and want to actively contribute to sustainable mobility themselves,” the Managing Director knows. It also has a positive effect on employer branding and recruitment of the best young employees. According to Dr. Nevska, positive effects are even noticeable on the financial markets.

Mobility budget worldwide

The positive effect of sustainable mobility solutions on employees is also confirmed by Holger Rausch, founder of Isarbits. The start-up relies on the mobility contingent of the Munich-based company Mobiko. This is a flexibly deployable mobility budget that employers make available to their employees for job and leisure travel. Via app, they’re able to use all sustainable mobility offers around the world.

Simple and tax compliant

The app is easy to use: “The employee pays first. Expenses are reimbursed with the pay slip,” explains Franziska Salzmann, co-founder of Mobiko. “Employees have all means of transport at their disposal, the either/or principle is no longer applicable.” Employees no longer have to choose between company car or train ticket. A further advantage: the data is prepared for each company payroll accounting system. This makes the accounting process digital. On top of that, ancillary wage costs can also be reduced – if employees use tax-free mobility offers.

Mobiko: All sustainable mobility offers worldwide can be used via app. Photo: Mobiko

Whether the majority of people in large cities will actually be using public or alternative means of transport in ten years time, as predicted by the Kantar market research institute, remains to be seen. But fact is: The issue of sustainable employee mobility is becoming an increasing focus for many companies.