What is a mobility manager? Not many people are familiar with this figure, yet it has been recognised in Italy since 1998 and, as
of May 2021, it is mandatory for companies with more than 100 employees and for municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants to employ one. This was decided by a joint decree of the Minister for Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Enrico Giovannini, and the Minister for Ecological Transition, Roberto Cingolani.
This position plays a key role in redefining mobility, and it is no coincidence that the decree making it compulsory was approved at the height of the pandemic, at a time when our entire concept of mobility, travel, and even work was being redefined globally. This decree is actually almost revolutionary, for several reasons.
What does a mobility manager do?
A mobility manager's main purpose is to plan a company’s employees' commuting, on the one hand by promoting sustainable mobility and encouraging employees to prefer alternative means of transportation than their own cars, and on the other hand by liaising with the local authorities in charge public transport and present the needs of the workforce in order to find viable solutions. They also consult on matters of work schedule, such as
the distribution and alternation of office shifts and home-office days.
What did the latest decree establish?
The fact that hiring a mobility manager was made compulsory for companies starting from a certain number of employees and the allocation of a 50 million Euro fund to support MMs represent a concrete step forward in
the intention to redefine mobility at a national level, working with all stakeholders. Coordinated action that simultaneously takes into account school and work schedules, the demand for public transport and the presence of infrastructure - such as cycle lanes - and alternative options such as car-pooling or car-sharing and bike-sharing services is the only way to
create an urban landscape in which environmental sustainability and attention to the needs of the population coexist and form the basis of a wide-ranging project. This is happening at a time when work is being rethought, when unnecessary travel is being avoided, when some people are finding that
working from home means reclaiming a large share of their time and saving resources, and are asking themselves why they should stop doing that. At the same time, those who need to continue to travel to work wonder how to do so safely and also sustainably. Giving these needs a genuine voice, which can also be heard in institutional contexts - e.g. by expressing needs and interacting with public transport providers - is an almost unprecedented step forward in this respect.
How much does sustainable mobility cost?
On a national scale a 50 million Euro fund is not huge. However, we have to keep in mind that it is not only through such fund, nor only by investing in infrastructure that sustainability is achieved and it is not that mobility managers don’t necessarily need large budgets to achieve significant change. In addition to real investments, such as those by municipalities and public transport companies, e.g. the construction of bicycle paths or new tram and underground lines, there are initiatives which do not involve significant costs, but which can produce enormous results.
Promoting car-pooling and organising work shifts to make it easier and more accessible for employees to combine their personal needs with their work-schedule, for instance, is an effective strategy that relies more on work and flexibility than budget
. Managing the rotation between office and home-office hours sensibly and cleverly, informing employees about alternatives to private cars, suggesting car-pooling, or creating partnerships with car-sharing or other mobility companies is a good way to reduce the environmental impact of the company's mobility and also the pressure on individual employees by facilitating time and travel management. This helps not only to create a more human-friendly professional ecosystem, but also to
bring sustainability to the forefront of corporate priorities.
