Let’s start with the stick, for employees who drive to work. Motorists will continue to receive a commuting mileage allowance, but free parking outside university buildings will come to an end. Project leader Cyriel Heuts can’t share exact numbers yet, but: “We definitely won’t be charging commercial rates like Q-Park. You won’t suddenly find yourself paying €12.50 per day. No, absolutely not.” Parking rates will also be linked to commuting distance: the farther you live from the university, the lower your rate.
Cycling allowance
And then there’s the carrot, for employees who cycle to work. With sustainability as its guiding principle, the En Route project group asked itself how best to motivate staff to swap the car for a bike. One answer is a commuting mileage allowance for cyclists. It won’t amount to a fortune, but it could make for a nice little bonus. Without specifying numbers, Heuts says that anyone cycling more than five kilometres will benefit. While some institutions and companies reimburse their employees on a cents-per-kilometre basis, UM will likely introduce a tiered system with a fixed allowance for 5 to 10 kilometres and a higher allowance for 11 to 15 kilometres, and so on. The greater the distance, the higher the reward.
Buying a new bike will also become more attractive. At present, UM contributes €340 towards a purchase once every three years. This will rise to €750 once every five years. “Bikes last longer than three years, so that too ties in with our sustainability goals”, Heuts points out. Reimbursement for travel expenses by public transport will remain unchanged: train and bus tickets will continue to be fully reimbursed.
Bus route
Why keep the mileage allowance for motorists at all if the goal is sustainable travel? “We agreed not to scrap it. We want to reward and discourage rather than reward and punish. Sustainability matters, but we mustn’t lose sight of good employment practice. There are plenty of people who would like to cycle or take the train but simply can’t do without a car – parents with children to drop off, employees with mobility impairments, those who don’t live near a station or convenient bus route and would face a 90-minute commute by public transport. They can’t very well give up driving to work.”
Flexibility is another goal. “We want people to have more freedom in their commuting choices.” Think taking the train one day and cycling to work the next. “At the moment, you can’t get a parking space if you’re on the UM Bicycle Scheme and the other way around. That just doesn’t work.” Claiming travel expenses will also be made easier. “We’ll be introducing a mobility app.”
The new policy, expected to take effect in January 2027, will require investment in facilitites, says Heuts. “In addition to the mobility app, we’ll introduce a new system to make parking easier. Bicycle parking spaces will also be renewed and expanded.”
Sensitive issue
In 2018, yet another parking proposal was rejected by the University Council and the Local Consultative Body, consisting of the Executive Board and trade union representatives. Questioning why employees should have to pay for parking, they sent the project group back to the drawing board. This time, Heuts has managed to get the proposal past the representative bodies – though not without difficulty, he admits. Around half of UM staff drive to work, and the idea of paid parking remains a sensitive issue. But UM will not be the first to introduce a parking rate; "several universities have already implemented paid parking, including Nijmegen, Leiden, Rotterdam, and Utrecht."