“Mobility Management for Companies”: Involve local companies in local mobility management
About this good practice
In 2012, Graz introduced a special financial support model, to encourage SMEs to implement various mobility management measures. A competition called ‘Mobility Management for Companies’ was organised, in which a monetary award for the best five proposals were assigned, to be used for implementing the proposed mobility management activities.
Mobility management activities included single (or package of) measure(s) which would help to reduce car use in Graz. The Municipality keeps control of the measures, as it selects the projects that will receive money.
The measures are designed at the local level (company-level) to allow a good understanding of the issues/needs and a corresponding design of measures.
The municipality provided training to companies before the competition, so they understand the objectives of the competition.
The training included:
❯ A handbook (with e.g. a list of potential mobility measures & a list of successful examples in Graz)
❯ Free evaluation consultation;
❯ Support for reaching relevant contact persons;
❯ Individual general support (phones, emails, etc.).
The prizes were paid directly by the municipality to the selected SMEs as follows:
❯ €10,000 for the winner
❯ €7,000 for the second place
❯ €5,000 for the third place
❯ €3,000 each for the fourth and fifth places.
Afterwards, companies implemented the measures and the city completed an assessment of measures and their results.
Resources needed
The municipality estimated the direct cost of the competition at about €60,000, namely for:
❯ the organization of the competition (consultation, communication, selection process, etc.)
❯ the money prize (around €28,000)
It is also expected that the companies will cover some of the costs.
Evidence of success
To reduce the car modal share in Graz, two competitions have taken place (2012 & 2014) with the selection of 10 companies in total (i.e. 5 SMEs per competition) and reached the following results:
❯ No. of measures implemented:
2012: 113
2014: 140
❯ Effect on mode share:
2012: 14% reduction of car driver trips
2014: 12% reduction of car driver trips
Thanks to the competition, companies developed a sense of responsibility and replicated some of the measures in other sites and cities.
Potential for learning or transfer
To put into practice the described GP, a sufficient number of companies in a city/region and a budget line for monetary prizes are needed. The monetary prize has to be high enough to attract companies, but not so high that the city/region cannot economically benefit from the campaign.
This mode of company’s participation can be implemented at the
regional level.
Regarding the resources necessary, staff time for development of the award campaign (project management skills required) is required. In addition, the measure requires the involvement of the mobility department staff for setting the objectives of the competition (and the evaluation criteria). Involvement of the economic department staff can help for reaching out at companies. The other resources are mostly financial (prize money and preparation tools).
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
City of Graz - FGM AMOR