Scientific paper ID 1537 : 2017/2

Sustainable urban mobility planning is becoming increasingly popular in many European cities. Some sustainable mobility measures are introduced not by local government, but by employers. Workplace sustainable mobility plans can have aims ranging from improving an organisations’ public image, to boosting employee job satisfaction or cutting company car costs.

Despite the growing popularity of such programmes, the evidence base remains scarce when it comes to the challenges employers and employees face during implementation, and the short- and long-term impacts of the implemented measures. Published studies on the topic predominantly rely on data gathered at large, white-collar organisations with 9-to-5 work hours. A comprehensive analysis of the effectiveness of workplace mobility measures should reflect the diversity of the urban economy and the everyday challenges of stakeholders.

The present paper discusses preliminary results from a two-year study of commuting to small and medium-sized businesses in the HoReCa sectors of Sofia and Brussels. The project is based on a mixed-method design, which s an online survey and individual in-depth interviews with both employers and employees of hotels, restaurants, cafes and bars in both cities. The aim of the project is to collect up-to-date data on mobility improvement measures adopted by employers in the sector, the effects of such measures on the sustainability, convenience and affordability of staff journey, the difficulties employers face, as well as to identify opportunities for collaboration in designing relevant measures which reflect the specific needs of the sector.