According to the Swiss Federal Office of Energy, in Switzerland it is estimated that about one third of all carbon dioxide emissions come from road traffic, and three quarters of these come from private cars. In the face of the current climate emergency, finding solutions to reduce our carbon emissions is becoming a priority, in our private lives as well as at work, and this is why we came up with Colleag !
The principle
Colleag is an online digital platform whose purpose is to improve commuting, while significantly reducing carbon impact. It is a means adapted to the reality of the moment which allows employers of all sizes to promote and finance carpooling for their employees, by integrating sustainable mobility into their CSR commitments.
The platform allows employees to carpool daily, and good news, it is not only for large companies ! Our aim is to create businesses ecosystems including Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, allowing all the employees from one area to carpool together.
Okay so concretely, how does it work ?
The idea was to start from scratch and design a carpooling service adapted to the commuting journey. We were inspired by business productivity tools such as Google Calendar, Trello and Slack, breaking the codes of classic transportation platforms. I’m leaving from such place to go such place, on such day, at such time : that simply doesn’t work for commuting when you have to do that every day, twice a day.
For this very reason, we adapted our tool to multimodal mobility and to the flexibility of daily life.
First, when applying to Colleag, the employee receives a personalized invitation. Then, he takes two minutes to answer a few questions about his daily commuting habits and the platform automatically generates a calendar. This calendar is at the core of our service, whether the user wants to customize the current week, save several redundant weeks, book a carpool or consult past and future trips, everything is there. He can even save several addresses to leave from home in the morning and return elsewhere in the evening : the kids’ school, a gym, a grocery store, a restaurant/bar or a parking lot, etc…
Our interface is adapted to the use of different sustainable means of transport, and it also calculates all their greenhouse gas emissions, whether you decide to carpool, walk or ride a bike.
What about the price ?
The employer has the possibility of allocating a budget to pay for the journeys of its employees. Each trip is billed a fixed amount per passenger and per trip, on which the employer has the option of contributing in whole or in part, the rest (if so) has to be paid by the passenger when booking on the platform.
For the drivers, it’s 100% free and the latter receives a financial compensation for each passenger transported. The amount never changes, no matter the distance traveled, because the objective is not to encourage drivers to do more kilometers to earn more.
Why should I use Colleag ?
By using Colleag, the first advantage is obviously to reduce the carbon footprint of your company. Furthermore, commuting significantly reduces the number of cars on the roads, and it will have direct effects on your parking facility : the more employees carpool, the fewer parking spaces you need !
Colleag also makes your company more attractive on the job market. By integrating daily carpooling into your CSR commitments, the company is more accessible to people without vehicles, especially if you are located in a rural area. In addition, more and more people choose to apply in companies if these are in line with their values. Indeed, the ecological conscience of individuals does not stop at their workplace.
Finally, carpooling is a great opportunity to socialize. It reduces stress and allows your employees to spend time together and get to know each other. It will improve the mood of your teams at work !
I would love my employees to become Colleag users, how do I set it up in my company ?
If you want to know more about how to set up our home-to-work carpooling solution in your company, write to us at hello@colleag.com !
