What is a mobility budget?
A mobility budget is a corporate initiative that provides employees with a flexible employee transport allowance to cover their travel expenses. It allows employees to choose their preferred mode of transport based on their needs, whether it be for daily commuting or work-related travel. Unlike traditionally offered company cars, mobility budgets give employees the freedom to choose from a wide range of travel options, including public transport, cycle hire, or ride-sharing services.
How does a mobility budget work?
A mobility budget works by giving employees a set amount of money (monthly or annually) or a reimbursement to cover their travel expenses. This could be in the form of a pre-tax commuter benefit, allowing employees to use the funds for a variety of transport options.
Companies that implement a commuter benefits program typically partner with providers to streamline the management and tracking of these transport allowances. The system often operates via a digital platform where employees can log and claim their travel expenses, making travel expense management easy to track for both the employee and the employer.
Why use a private bus shuttle service?
A private bus shuttle service is a great option for businesses offering corporate mobility solutions as part of their workplace travel benefits. Not only does it contribute to sustainable commuting, but it also helps reduce congestion, lower emissions and offers an affordable transport option to employees.
A private bus shuttle allows you to:
- Boost recruitment by widening the area you can hire from
- Make it easier for staff to get back to the office
- Increase sustainability and reduce Scope 3 emissions
- Improve retention rates and staff wellbeing
- Reduce car parking pressures
- Optimise existing shuttle bus links
- Provide a shuttle bus service to and from nearby bus or train stations
Use case: RideTandem shared employee shuttle
Employees can use mobility budgets to pay for tickets as part of a RideTandem shuttle service provided by an employer. RideTandem manages the entire process, including route planning, ticket sales and data optimisation, making it a hassle-free option for employers.
Why use RideTandem for your corporate shuttle service?
Flexibility
Our shuttle bus services can be flexed up or down to meet your needs and budgets. We use data-led route optimisation to ensure every journey suits your employees and your dedicated account manager will provide regular route performance reports.
Innovation
Our rider app and client hub give your business and your employees easy access to ticket booking, route schedules, vehicle occupancy data and more. Enjoy unparalleled access to data on how employee mobility budgets are being used.
Sustainability
On average, scope 3 emissions account for more than 70% of corporate carbon emissions and employee commuting is a huge contributor to those emissions. Implementing a shared corporate bus service for your employees reduces your carbon footprint, helps you hit ESG goals and makes Scope 3 reporting easier.
4 steps to set up a RideTandem service
- Discovery
We speak to you to understand what type of service meets your requirements and analyse postcode data to suggest the most suitable routes.
- Partner
Our team finds and vets the best value transport provider from our nationwide network of licensed bus, coach and private hire providers.
- Launch
We’ll visit your site to deliver marketing materials, answer staff questions and make sure everyone knows how to use their mobility budget with the service.
- Optimise
Your dedicated account manager will meet with you regularly to ensure your service remains within your mobility budget limits and meets your evolving needs.
How is a mobility budget taxed?
Employers can choose between different tax models based on the purpose of the travel - work or personal - and the type of transport used. Whether taxes apply to the mobility budget depends on how it is handled and accounted for. For example, public transport subsidies and company bikes are typically tax-free.
In general, offering a mobility budget as a salary supplement is more tax-friendly than a salary increase. If the mobility budget is offered as a salary supplement, employers can provide up to 50 euros tax-free, and for amounts over that, a flat 30% tax applies, up to 10,000 euros per year. For employers, offering mobility budgets as a “benefit in kind” means a significant tax reduction. For employees, claiming “benefits in kind” allows them to receive a monthly tax-free salary bonus.
How much does a RideTandem shuttle service cost?
RideTandem services are tailored to each company’s budget and needs, as well as the requirements of the employees and sustainability goals. In order to give you an accurate quote, we need to ask you a few basic questions to understand your needs. If you’d like to receive a personalised no-obligation quote, or ask any questions about how mobility budgets can be used with a RideTandem service, book a call with our German team today.
Book a call with the German team today.
