22 February 2021 
The rising importance of our carbon imprint, the constant loss of time in traffic jams and fundamental changes in our mentality: mobility is evolving. Companies are war-ready, standing on the front lines of innovation, helping to shape new ways of transportation. All of this is supported through innovative solutions by fuel card companies, who are in turn reinventing themselves as well.
Just like Charles Dickens’ Two Cities, Brussels finds itself both in the best of times and in the worst of times. As the years progressed, our beloved capital built up a reputation as the most jammed capital in Europe. It’s a problem that reaches other city centres like Liège, Charleroi and Antwerp, turning our little kingdom into Europe’s bad pupil when it comes to mobility. Kilometres of unmoving cars and countless hours lost by employees are impacting our economy. Let’s look at some numbers to examine the situation:
Belgians are on the move more often than their European neighbours.
6% more than the Dutch and 9% more than the French.
Source: National French study, 2013 https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/2019022#graphique-figure5
And the numbers keep growing.
According to a federal report, the number of travels will see a yearly increase of 0,5%.
Source : Perspectives de l’évolution de la demande de transport en Belgique à l’horizon 2030 – http://www.plan.be/admin/uploaded/201512081037150.For_Transport_1230_11128_F.pdf
Home-to-work and home-school trips are time-bound.
The majority takes place between 7 and 9am and between 3 and 6pm.
Source: BELDAM 2010
The car remains the most popular transportation method.
A tendency linked to the system of company cars, or even ‘salary cars’.
Source : Preliminary results – Monitor 2017
Soft mobility is on the rise.
But the times, they are a-changing. While the company car remains popular, it is steadily losing ground to soft mobility. Bikes, public transport, shared transport and the combination of multiple methods of transportation to get from point A to point B are skyrocketing across the active population. Belgians are not only fed up with wasting time in traffic jams, there is also a growing environmental consciousness throughout our commuting compatriots.
The offer of mobility solutions is expanding incessantly and paves the way for a myriad of new kids on the block. Big enterprises, governmental initiatives and start-ups are brewing up ideas to properly shape the mobility of tomorrow.
All in one.
To embellish the ensemble of mobility initiatives, there’s a dominant trend looking to revolutionize the way in which Belgians travel. How, you ask ? By offering mobility solutions that integrate every possible transportation method from door to door. A concept capable of attracting multiple businesses because it answers employee requests for better transport and because it is a favorable response to the governmental law that envisions a national zero emission car park by 2026.
Network Fleet Card goes the extra mile.
Network Fleet Card fits into the desire to reach out with innovative alternatives to fossil fuels – without leaving them behind – by offering companies a simplified method that bundles all mobility initiatives, both governmental and public. That’s why they launched an app last January that lets users reserve, manage and track all available mobility solutions via one single platform.
By simplifying multimodal mobility, the app also simplifies the management of expenses linked to mobility through the use of a single, detailled invoice. That amounts to two heavyweight arguments to use in mobility package propositions to employees and regarding the place of the company car, which loses fiscal attractivity. The Shell Mobility Solutions app will be available to all employees on the cafeteria plan or with a mobility budget granted by the employer.
A reminder on the Mobility Budget and the Cafeteria Plan.
When an employer chooses to install the mobility budget, employees can choose to exchange their company car for that budget, which can in turn be used in 3 ways:
1. An electric vehicle or vehicle satisfying certain regulations
2. Ecological transportation methods like bikes, electric two-wheelers, a public transport subscription, a carsharing platform, …
En effet, le cash for car n’est plus d’application. https://www.rtl.be/info/belgique/societe/il-ne-sera-plus-possible-d-echanger-sa-voiture-de-societe-contre-de-l-argent-voici-pourquoi-1190636.aspx
The cafeteria plan offers employees a personalized salary package without raising salary costs for the employer. Part of the salary becomes flexible: a slice of the gross income or the end of year bonus, for example. For that salary part, the employee chooses from the advantages that are laid out in advance by the employer, such as additional vacation days, a pension plan or a company car. That way, every employee gets a package adapted to their wishes and the employer becomes more attractive on the job market.
What about tomorrow?
In order to continue offering the best alternatives, Shell invests more than a billion euros a year in research and development. Their mission: transform innovative ideas into concrete technologies with commercial potential and the ability to be used on our roads in the near future.
« The research is mainly focused on reducing energy use. Our long-term objective is to strengthen our understanding of the science and techniques behind the newest technologies that are able to create a brighter and less polluting tomorrow. », says Laurent Charlot, Commercial Director of Shell BeLux.
Every company that shares this environmental ambition deserves the spotlight. The faster we can concretise ideas and projects, the faster we can overcome the enormous challenges of tomorrow.
Learn more about Network Fleet Card’s mobility projects.
Are you a fleet manager working in a company that is longing for intelligent and ecological mobility solutions? Could you do with some advice on how to reduce the carbon imprint of your fleet? Contact us and we will gladly answer your questions.
