COMMUTING AT THE TIME OF POST COVID

Commuting means moving from the house to the workplace twice in a day. It has always been a phenomenon that affects various aspects of people’s personal, social, economic and environmental lives.

According to an Istat (Italian Agency for Statistical Survey) survey, the commuters for study or work reasons before Covid-19 emergency were 33 million. Although with the start of “Phase 2” 3 million of people started to move again, the use of public transport has collapsed and a lot of people have started to move by car, bike or foot.

To cope with the increase in the number of contagions in the last weeks, a tightening about the capacity allowed on public transports was expected in the new decree by President Conte, but there has been no news (50% for high speed trains and 80% for buses, undergrounds and regional trains). 

Until a few weeks ago, companies and commuters were wondering if, with the resumption of the activities, the public transport would have been able to meet the demand, but in this time of uncertainty the real question is whether the public transport is safe or not. 

In this post-virus scenario, it is clear that the commuting has to be completely reorganized and for this reason some of the most innovative startups for smart mobility have taken the field. 

In the last months startups and transport companies have worked together in order to find an efficient solution for all the companies willing to benefit from alternative solutions for their employees’ commuting.

From the meeting between BusForFun, a Venetian startup, and some local transport companies, a new idea has been found, with the potential to become a valuable solution: a network of corporate shuttles. On the one hand, the transport companies make their charter buses available, on the other Busforfun offers its expertise in smart mobility management, with a technology that allows to analyse, organise and book the transport service, assuring the safe management of the seats in each vehicle.

By joining the platform, the companies will be able to receive wide reports concerning the services, while the employees will have the opportunity to book the time slots of the rides according to their work shifts.

The partnership between the Venetian start-up and local transport companies has already allowed the launch of the shuttle bus service for the employees of the big commercial and industrial center of Peschiera Borromeo (Milan), a computing service with more than 1,000 seats reserved to workers.

In this way, a complete service of company welfare is offered: transport on daily sanitized vehicles, comfortable and private seats, tailor-made routes going from the employee’s house directly to the workplace. And that is not all. The employees will finally avoid being stuck in traffic, the difficulty of finding parking near the workplace and, above all, the gatherings at the stops are avoided. 

Following the idea of safe and reliable journeys, Busforfun is ready to offer a similar alternative to schools, by proposing a better solution to the traditional school service.

Other European startups have taken action to enable the continuation of the activities in this phase. “The way in which we all travel to work needs to change, now and in the future. Passengers and drivers’ security is fundamental in the fight against the Covid-19 and the shared transport will significantly affect also the pollution and the traffic levels”, said Sam Ryan, co-founder of the British start-up Zeelo. The shared transport service is already used in the UK and in South Africa by companies like Amazon, Argos, Ocado, Colgate, Avara Foods, Jaguar Land Rover and Hermes. 

Also the Spanish company BusUp has started offering a smart transport solution which combines in one service technology, efficiency, savings and sustainability. Leroy Merlin, Nestlè, Louis Vuitton, Siemens, Grupo Big and many others are already using their service.

Shuttle bus service is of primary importance and will be fundamental in supporting the companies, in Italy and abroad, in the process of going back to pre-emergency levels of activities.

Beyond the Covid-19 emergency, sharing the journey by bus has a lot of benefits. Commuting to work or to recreational occasions through shared buses is an important change that will contribute to transport sustainability and will spread a better respect for the environment. It is not just about the costs, but also to improve employees’ quality of life, to reduce the sick leaves due to road accidents, to avoid the stress for the traffic and the delays, etc. But above all, it means to have more respect and to be more responsible towards the environment. Buses are much more efficient regarding fuel consumption and they emit a much lower level of greenhouse gases. It has been calculated that the transport of 100 people corresponds to 403kg of saved CO2!...91 tons of CO2 saved in one year!

Despite the restrictions constantly updating, the startups are still working to find valid alternative solutions, managed through digital platforms, able to offer a wide range of functionalities to their suppliers and customers. 

What does your company think? If you are interested in the corporate shuttle bus service, write to us here and we will find together the best solution for your needs!

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