Will you still be driving your own car in future?
Alternative forms of mobility such as car-sharing and bike-sharing are becoming increasingly popular. But people won’t stop wanting to own their own car any time soon, according to Philippe Kahn, New Mobility Manager at Arval, the leasing subsidiary of BNP Paribas Fortis. “Cars may play a smaller role in people’s lives as they combine them with other forms of transport. Cities are currently creating more space for pedestrians, cyclists and public transport, and making themselves less accessible to cars. The array of mobility solutions that cities now offer means that it no longer seems necessary to own a car. But people who live in areas that are less well served by public transport will still need one.”
”Similarly, your dependency on a car will depend on what stage of life you’re at,” explains Philippe Kahn. “A young couple can easily do without a car, but that will become more difficult if they have children. And when their children leave home, other forms of mobility will become more attractive.”
There is an alternative to buying a vehicle: personal leasing. You pay a fixed monthly payment, which includes the cost of leasing the car and a range of services including maintenance and breakdown recovery, plus insurance and tax.
From company cars to mobility budgets
More than half a million Belgians drive a company car. This remains very attractive from the tax point of view, but there’s now an alternative: the “mobility budget”. This allows an employee to take the money that would have been spent on a company car and use it on other means of transport. “But today, only people who already have a company car or are entitled to one can opt for a mobility budget,” says Philippe Kahn. “It would be better if everyone had the freedom to choose how they want to travel, from a range of options. For example, you could opt for an inexpensive car and use the rest of your budget to lease an e-bike or buy a public transport season ticket.”
Some companies are also experimenting with company car pools, i.e. shared cars that employees use as and when they need to. This could prove an attractive solution at a time when an increasing number of people are working from home.
Smart apps
However, alternative mobility solutions will only be adopted if they’re easy to use. Arval will soon launch a smart mobility app for businesses, providing a simple way of managing mobility budgets and proposing various ways to make a journey.
A new mindset
Above all, adopting new forms of mobility requires a new mindset: travelling by car should no longer be an automatic choice. Personal cars are not about to disappear any time soon, but there are now alternative solutions that are comfortable, fast and practical.