On the mobility policies of companies: What are the good practices? The Belgian case

Abstract

Companies play an important role in the mobility debate as they can be considered as the primary ‘creators’ of commuting traffic. In recent years, companies have developed a variety of initiatives to improve the mobility of their employees, although their visions and actions are often neglected in the research literature. This paper aims at identifying the good practice in mobility policies of workplaces located in Belgium. To achieve this objective, existing research and two large-scale Belgian surveys of commuting are analysed. First, workplaces are clustered in order to identify those where the alternative modes of transport which are promoted by the policy are popular among employees. Then, quantitative analyses are performed to find out what are the good practices of mobility policies.The results show that the best way of promoting an alternative mode of transport depends on company's characteristics. The promotion of bicycles is most appropriate for small workplaces, while larger workplaces and those located in built-up areas or city centres are more suitable for the promotion of public transport. Financial incentives, provision of facilities, diffusion of information and parking management all play an important role in mobility management.