The three-day course offered by the Automobile Club Luxembourg and the University of Luxembourg’s Mobilab Transport Research Group will target managers of companies employing over 100 people and train them in mobility management, so they can create a sustainable and effective mobility strategy which improves the lives of staff and limits the amount of time wasted in traffic.
“The primary objective of the training is to provide a comprehensive overview of the management of employees’ mobility and accessibility of workplaces, share best practices and provide participants with the necessary knowledge, concrete examples, tools and measurement indicators,” the ACL said in a joint press statement with the University of Luxembourg on 22 February.
Conducted in English, the course will take place on 18, 19 and 24 April at the Hotel Melia in Luxembourg-Kirchberg at a cost of €680 per person. Places are limited but, pending feedback, it is hoped the training will be repeated again in future.
Congestion in Luxembourg
Traffic in Luxembourg has become a major issue, in part because of a population explosion but also because it has the highest levels of private vehicle ownership in Europe at 661 passenger vehicles per 1,000 residents. This is compounded by the fact that an estimated 240,000 residents in Luxemboug drive from home to work and a further 180,000 cross-border workers come to the country daily. All things considered, it is little surprise that a recent Inrix traffic survey found that motorists in Luxembourg City spent on average 33 hours per year in traffic jams.
“It’s even more extreme when you think abou the number of people losing time. The possibility for a company to reduce that is immense. It’s a loss not only for the person but for the environment and society in general,” one of the trainers, Professor Francesco Viti of the University of Luxembourg, said at the project launch on Thursday.
In addition to awareness-raising projects, a number of traffic calming initiatives have been introduced in the country, including the construction of a tramway, the first stay of which opened in Kirchberg in December 2017, two trains stations in Pfaffenthal and Howald and a funicular linking Kirchberg to Pfafenthal. Further projects such as car-pooling app “Copilote”, scheduled for April 2018, and new P+R (park and ride) car parks are also planned for the future. However, this training, which is endorsed by the government, marks the first time mobility experts have attempted to engage company managers directly to find solutions.
A number of companies in Luxembourg have already adopted measures to ease congestion and improve staff mobility. Among the most well-known is PwC’s carpooling application for employees, which incentivises co-workers to travel together by offering a free parking space at work. Other initiatives include teleworking at Société Générale Bank & Trust as well as certain ministries and the Ville de Luxembourg.
Click here to register for the course.