There are many factors impeding your organisation’s ability to reduce car usage. Here are some common mistakes employers make when rolling out new employee transportation options.
1. Irregular Communication
When transitioning to more sustainable transportation habits, you are changing entrenched behavioural patterns. This doesn’t happen overnight, change is gradual.
“A big mistake companies make is failing to give travel schemes a consistent focus”
To deliver change, ensure you place employee transportation benefits front and centre. A smart parking management system can serve as the anchor of your broader commuter strategy, giving employees visibility into available spaces and reducing the need to drive every day.
2. Failure To Engage Employees
Just because you know something, doesn’t mean anybody else does. Companies who are excellent at employee engagement often struggle with travel schemes.
“For best results, complement bigger awareness campaigns with personal touchpoints.”
In smaller companies, conduct an annual mobility review with each staff member. In bigger companies, ensure questions around employee mobility are included in annual reviews.
Watch our product video on how Wayleadr can eliminate parking management issues
3. Short-Term Thinking
It’s great to aim for the stars. Yet, mobility transformation is not a short-term game. Don’t get disheartened if you have a company with 500 people and only 5 new people have opted to start cycling. If you replicate these results year on year, you’ll find your organisation getting to a good place.
4. Indecision By Committee
Building a network of internal champions to build support for schemes is key.
“Avoid rule committee. Establish clear roles and responsibilities for these groups.”
The last place you want to be is needing cross-departmental buy-in every time you want to make a small change. If this happens, your committees will start spending your budget like it is their budget. This often results in people pulling in all directions.
5. Poor Employee Consultation
Changing mobility habits can be an emotive issue. People don’t like change. A key to success is bringing people on the journey with you. Make sure your staff is educated on the positive impact of the mobility scheme changes.
Communicate employee benefits and how practical the transition will be, while relating to their frustrations. The alternative is managing a constant backlash from employees worried about the unknown.
Decrease your company’s dependency on cars with our guides growing running, walking, cycling and public transport at work.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are the biggest employee transportation challenges?
Parking shortages, long and unpredictable commutes, lack of transit alternatives, unequal access (not everyone can drive), and the cost of commute benefits. Most companies face at least three of these simultaneously.
How do companies solve employee transportation problems?
Multi-modal approach: parking management software for efficient allocation, shuttle programs for transit-poor locations, carpooling matching, transit subsidies, and flexible schedules to flatten peak demand.
Should companies pay for employee transportation?
Partially. Pre-tax transit benefits, parking subsidies, and shuttle programs are standard at large employers. The investment typically pays for itself through reduced parking infrastructure costs and improved retention.
