Mobility management: optimum organisation

"The new legal obligations set out in the mobility plan, which is compulsory for sites with more than one hundred employees, and the new environmental and tax standards for company vehicles are prompting us to review the organisation of our vehicle fleet and travel department. Companies must constantly adaptingIt's a job that's not very well developed in France: that of mobility manager", says Danièle Maby, travel and general services coordinator and vehicle fleet manager at Pellenc, a manufacturer of agricultural machinery and equipment. In fact, Danièle Maby works in a position that is still relatively undeveloped in France: that of mobility manager.

The advent of new solutions such as car-sharing, bike-sharing and car-pooling is now encouraging the use of new forms of transport. consolidation of fleet management and business travel. Especially as these modes of transport meet the needs of younger employees. "Some no longer wish to benefit from an allocated company car, but are instead looking for new forms of mobility"says Yvonnick Maisonneuve, mobility management consultant at Mobility Tech Green, a car-sharing specialist whose clients include Enedis, La Poste and Orange.

The arrival of new solutions such as car-sharing, bike-sharing and car-pooling is encouraging the consolidation of fleet management and business travel.

There is another advantage to using new mobility solutions: reducing carbon emissions. The electric vehicle meets this objective".against a backdrop of urban traffic restrictions"Gérard de Chalonge, Sales Director at Athlon, which offers its Flex2Use solution, comments. "On a daily basis, employees drive with a electric vehicleor a smaller car, and has a budget for short-term rental days, for holidays for example."he explains. Siemens has adopted this formula for its employees. "They can choose from four electric models, from the Zoe to the Tesla. Depending on their choice, the number of short-term rental days varies, up to 40 or 50 days. They can use a simulator to study this offer."says Patrick Petit, head of non-production purchasing at Siemens. The company "is committed to having a neutral carbon footprint in 2030. And among our activities that emit the most CO2, travel is in the top 3."Patrick Petit, who also offers his employees the Klaxit car-sharing service and is looking into the possibility of introducing mobility credits, explains. "We test and introduce alternative solutions. But this requires complex organisation and impeccable monitoring to ensure that they work and that employees are not disappointed."he adds.

"Having an overall budget for the fleet and business travel makes it easier to steering. We can cross-reference files and journeys. For example, we can identify employees who have a company car but who often use taxis."The company no longer calculates in terms of TCO (total cost of ownership), but in terms of TCM (total cost of mobility). This type of management also encourages the adoption of consistent rules. "In other words, depending on the distance, we prefer to travel by train rather than by plane, or by car. carpooling rather than using a company car, but also recommending taxis or VTCs to get to the airport to avoid parking costs, or preferring car-sharing to short-term rental..."says Mélaine Pouchain-De Vita, Head of Employee Services at Metro France.

Almost all long-term leasing companies now have a car-sharing offer, and some are even going so far as to offer car-sharing services. further. Diac Location (Renault) offers "a VTC offer with Marcel. Employees can opt for a VTC to get to the city centre if parking facilities are virtually non-existent. This offer is also aimed at people travelling by train or plane. On arrival in Toulouse, the VTC will be waiting for them. So we're moving towards a mobility pass"says Vincent Hauville, Deputy Managing Director of Diac Location.

Cycling

For its part, Arval, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, offers a car-sharing service in partnership with Klaxit, as well as a car-pooling service. bike-sharing solution including bicycles, a station for electrically-assisted models, maintenance, helmets and protective waistcoats, and management tools to organise sharing. This alternative is set to grow rapidly, as employers will be able to take advantage of the new legislation to offer their employees the possibility of sharing their bikes. law on the orientation of mobility planned for the end of 2019, contribute up to 400 euros a year towards the cost of commuting to work by carpooling or cycling.

According to a survey carried out in March 2019 by the Arval Mobility Observatory, 31 % of the companies surveyed with a fleet of company vehicles of 100 % already use car-sharing or intend to offer it to their employees, with this figure rising to 57 % for companies with more than 1,000 employees. Car-sharing is a close second (29 % overall and 60 % for companies with over 1,000 employees), followed by mobility credit (16 % and 32 %).

For Mélaine Pouchain-De Vita, who is setting up a car-sharing service, this solution "limits the use of taxisIn addition to mileage allowances, you can also opt for short-term hire."As well as providing greater flexibility, it also makes it possible to optimise the car fleet. "Car-sharing a vehicle that doesn't get much use improves its utilisation rate. Even more so if it is made available to employees privately, at weekends and evenings, at an affordable price."At the same time, she is introducing shared bikes and scooters at her Nanterre site to make commuting easier.

According to a survey carried out in 2019 by the Arval Mobility Observatory, 31 % of the companies questioned already use car-sharing or plan to offer it to their employees.

"Companies are very interested in car-sharing, but it takes some time for them to make up their minds.notes Yvonnick Maisonneuve. With a car-sharing platform, bookings are made using a mobile application or on the website, and the vehicle is opened using a professional badge or a dedicated badge. Our solution also makes it possible to extend the use of car-sharing. evenings and weekends"This consultant from Mobility Tech Green, which also offers bike-sharing on its e-colibri platform and is working on a new version that will include car-sharing, explains. "The user of a car-sharing vehicle can offer a seat to a colleague on the same route. It's an interesting tool for employees, and one that allows a certain professional mix while generating savings for the company."he points out. And indeed, the savings follow. According to a study by Free2Move Business Solutions (Groupe PSA), "Every month, sharing a car saves four or five short-term rentals, 21 taxi journeys or seven journeys in mileage allowance."

For its part, bike-sharing has both its supporters and its detractors. "We have not activated this project for reasons of employee safety."says Patrick Petit of Siemens. At Natixis, which was also reluctant at the outset, positions are changing. "We're thinking about bike-sharing for our future Paris headquarters, which will have limited parking space. We plan to install bicycle garages and free electric recharging for employees and visitors. Subsidies could also be offered to those who buy an electric bike."says Olivier Valladeau.

High credit

With the mobility credit, a solution put forward by Ubeequo and Renault Mobility, employees who give up their company car, or choose a smaller vehicle, benefit from a budget for their private journeys by train, plane or taxi. The GCC Group offers this to employees who opt for an electric vehicle. Those who give up their conventional model benefit from a higher credit and an electric car-sharing service. Among the testers of this solution, "two-thirds hang on"says the group's head of logistics. Other alternatives, this time aimed at limiting travel, include videoconferencing and teleworking, encouraged by the latest reform of employment law. "Our employees can telework up to two days a week. We also encourage them to use Skype and videoconferencing tools."says Olivier Valladeau.

However, the mobility manager has to overcome a number of obstacles, first and foremost cultural. "Those who have company cars are often people in their forties or fifties who are not used to using them. other modes of mobility"says Gérard de Chalonge. Then there's the lack of tools. "When it comes to fleet and travel management, we have a large number of applications to choose from, but there's no offer for global monitoring."says Danièle Maby. "To achieve a high-performance organisation, you need to set up performance indicators and compare returns on investment and costs."says Mélaine Pouchain-De Vita. Finally, the tax system is also slow to catch up. "We need to pay close attention to the rules on benefits in kind, to ensure, for example, that mobility credits are not reclassified as additional pay. The tax authorities are not clear on these issues."says the manager.

Another question: "if an employee goes on holiday by plane and leaves his company car in a car-sharing scheme - a solution that is being considered - how can he be given a benefit in exchange, in what form and subject to what tax?"she asks. Companies are thinking about the "bleisure" frameworka contraction of "business" and "leisure". "An employee leaving on an assignment in Hong Kong may want to extend his stay over a weekend. When it comes to paying for the trip and security, things are far from clear-cut. However, many employees are keen to"says Mélaine Pouchain-De Vita.

In full expansion within companies, the mobility management is not a solitary path. It can also be shared! "We are taking part in working groups to pool our mobility resources with other neighbouring companies in the thirteenth arrondissement of Paris, such as Le Monde and the RATP."says the head of Natixis. Plans include pooling car-pooling services and sharing coworking spaces between the various sites in Paris.