- A Cost-Benefit workbook
- A Savings Calculation sheet
- An Employee Opt-In Survey
Challenges That Make Your Employees Hate Their Commute (And How Carpooling Solves Them)
How about this as a horror film title: “Employee Transportation Issues: A Day in the Life of HR”? Sound familiar? This endless string of complaints about transportation options, traffic congestion, rising fuel costs, and limited parking results in a drop in employee morale and productivity. Every day a bit more.
Step out of that enchanted circle! Winter is the perfect time to discover how carpooling can be a game-changer for employee commutes. By encouraging shared rides, you can boost employee satisfaction and even reduce your company’s carbon footprint. Let’s explore how a simple carpooling program can streamline your workforce’s commute.
We’ve all seen it: 3 signs of the commuting apocalypse
Your employees face these challenges every day
What you see is an employee who is late, or has a negative attitude in the morning, or seems messy in appearance. But you may miss the reason behind all that:
1. Lack of commuting options
Access to reliable, safe transportation is crucial for reaching jobs, essential services, and resources. Unfortunately, this access may not be equally distributed geographically for all employees of one company.
Urban areas generally have better access to public transport however, public transit systems that are not accessible to people with disabilities or older adults can leave a portion of employees stranded.
Furthermore, limited transit options, especially during off-peak hours, can hinder the ability of individuals with irregular work schedules to reach their jobs safely and affordably.
It seems that, for employees with bad public transport connection, driving is the fastest, safest and a most reliable means of commute. For them, the alternatives to driving present logistical challenges or, depending on geography, may not exist at all.
But, what if… they don’t own a car?
2. Cost
The inflation and rising cost of fuel are already making 64% of Europeans inclined towards changing their mobility habits from commuting by car to greener alternatives.
For example, in Ireland, it’s estimated that the cost of owning and operating a car – in addition to fuel costs – can sum up to €10,691 per year! No wonder that the research done by Ipsos Strategic back in 2022, showed that one out of three car owners in Europe consider not having a personal car in the future, especially younger Europeans (40% among those aged 18 to 34 years-old), and people living in large cities.
At the same time, the popularity of active commuting methods like cycling and walking is on the rise partly because of the influence of Covid, partly because environmental protection awareness has finally gotten through to citizens and companies. And they’re free.
3. Parking Tetris
Did you know: 30% of urban traffic comes from cars hunting for parking spaces!
The average time it takes you to find a parking spot ranges from 5-25 minutes in European countries. That is 5 to 25 minutes to be added to commute time.
With crowded parking lots it can be equally stressful getting out of that parking spot, especially when everyone is leaving work at the same time.
So, next time you see your colleague stressed out or looking tired in the morning, ask your self: What can I, as an HR manager, do to stop or at least mitigate the effect of commuting on employees?
Get everyone to work on time, stress-free and safely
Overcoming commuting issues with carpooling
Corporate carpooling is an excellent solution to alleviate a number of employee commuting challenges, offering benefits to both employees and employers. Here’s how:
1. Flexibility: Everyone can get a lift
Carpooling is designed to be flexible, so it can accommodate varying work schedules and personal commitments.
The idea is that one colleague, who is, let’s say, this week’s designated driver, picks up two or three people on their way to work at a time they define among themselves. This means that the passengers do not have to walk to the nearest bus or train station but can conveniently get picked up in front of their home or very close to it.
In the spirit of fairness, another member of this group will drive next week, and so on. Passengers who haven’t learned how to drive or do not own a car are welcome to stay as passengers as long as they respect the defined carpooling arrangements.
This is an ideal scenario for shift workers and employees who live in rural areas, or far from their public transport connections. They will always have a lift to and from work with the people they know and trust.
Carpooling can also provide opportunities for employees to connect and build relationships with colleagues. Travelling in good company during the commute can help reduce stress levels or give them a chance to quickly brainstorm ideas for the upcoming project, elevating productivity.
2. Cost Reduction: FREE FEASIBILITY KIT PROVIDED
Fuel money savings is the first to come to mind.
This is achieved through splitting the cost of fuel between the carpool drivers and their passengers. In plain terms, everybody chips in a bit for a win-win situation.
Remember, savings are not always material! The time and stress carpooling saves your employees doesn’t have a price tag, however, it’s the most valuable benefit of all.
To see how feasible carpooling can be for your company, we have created a cost-benefit workbook you can use to determine the estimated commuting cost savings for you and your employees.
Free
Carpooling Feasibility Kit
Fill out the form to download the KINTO Join Carpooling Feasibility Kit. Inside, you will find:
3. Everything about parking
Carpooling lowers the number of cars heading in the same direction (your offices). Now, instead of 3 or 4 cars occupying employee parking spots, you’ll have only one! Imagine that! Coming to work every day with a parking spot waiting for you is a dream of everyone who has ever driven a car to work.
Going forward, after a successful implementation of corporate carpooling, you will not have an urgent need for expanding your parking capacities, or as much parking maintenance fees as expected.
Again, a win for everyone. Even the environment! You will attract less traffic, hence, the carbon emissions from commuting (that you might have to report on) will only get lower.
What’s best about corporate carpooling is that it fits in an app! Carpooling apps and platforms are used to connect employees and streamline the process of finding carpool partners.
Putting theory into practice
Corporate Carpooling With KINTO Join
To help you understand the practical side of corporate carpooling, we’ll show you a part of our platform that caters to carpoolers.
How corporate carpooling works: the look and feel
A typical app user, a passenger, would first join the closed community of sustainable commuters created for their company. Upon registration, they enter their working schedule and the address where they want to be picked up to join the journey to work. This does not necessarily have to be their home address. It can be any address along the route that they want the driver to pick them up. This way, KINTO Join is contributing to the app user’s safety and privacy.
Passengers can browse through their community and see their carpooling matches based on schedule and route to work proximity or book already scheduled carpools by colleague-drivers.
Once the shared journey starts, the app will verify the carpool, and the driver will be eligible for a designated parking spot or another incentive based on your company’s preferences.
It’s simple as that. A few clicks and everyone can be at work on time, happy and safe.
Turning commuting challenges into carpooling opportunities
With a corporate carpooling solution in place you can reduce tardiness and absenteeism to maintain employee productivity. It is a convenient and reliable transportation option, available to everyone – weather they are a driver or a passenger.
Stop having the daily “employee transportation problems headache” – grasp the easiest, most effective solution at hand: corporate carpooling. Stop wasting time, resources and nerves – start saving on transportation and parking cost.