Your employees want to drive less. Does your mobility policy make that easy?

The Belgian federal public service for Mobility and Transport just published its annual BeMob survey: a poll of 2,500 Belgians about their travel habits in 2025. It covers all trips, not just commuting, but also errands, leisure and social activities.

These figures are ones every HR or fleet manager should have on hand when rolling out or reviewing the mobility budget.

The car still wins, but not by a landslide

88% of Belgians use the car at least occasionally, and more than half do so three times a week or more. No surprise there. But the car isn't alone: 95% of Belgians walk, and public transport (66%) and cycling (53%) have clearly become the two main alternatives.

Interesting detail: people who cycle do so more often than people who use public transport. 19% of Belgians cycle at least three times a week, compared to 16% for public transport. The bike loses on reach, then, but wins on frequency.

What this means: your employees already mix multiple modes of transport today. A mobility budget that focuses on just one alternative, public transport alone for example, misses half the picture. A platform that brings car, bike, public transport and charging together under one mobility budget matches how people actually get around, instead of a separate tool for each mode.

The e-bike is the only real shift since 2022

Between 2022 and 2025, Belgians' travel habits have stayed remarkably stable. With one exception: the e-bike. The share of users rose from 24% to 28%, while regular bikes lost ground. Among frequent users (at least weekly), the e-bike is now even more popular than the regular bike: 16% versus 15%.

What this means: if your mobility budget or cafeteria plan doesn't cover e-bikes yet, you're behind a trend that's been building for three years. And if it does already: make sure the admin behind it doesn't weigh as heavily as the investment itself. For a bike lease, HR still approves the expense manually in Mbrella the first time, but after that the processing runs automatically for the following months, making the switch easier for both employees and HR.

The train has untapped potential

More than half of Belgians take the train at least once a year, but 39% only do so a few times a year. That's a large group of occasional users who, with the right incentives, could take the train more often.

Age plays a big role here: 22% of 18- to 24-year-olds take the train weekly (mostly students), but that share declines steadily with age, becoming almost negligible among retirees.

What this means: your younger employees are already train users. Make sure a train subscription through your mobility budget is just as easy to activate as any other option, or you'll lose a group that's already on board. Activating a third-party payer arrangement also saves the employee 20% on their train subscription, lowering the barrier for the occasional train traveler to do it more often.

Perception versus practice: why the car wins on convenience, not values

When asked about their perception of different modes of transport, the pattern is crystal clear:

• The car wins on speed (93%), convenience (93%) and enjoyment (91%).
• Walking and cycling win convincingly on cost, health and environmental impact (all above 90%).
• Public transport scores lower on convenience, but makes up for it on safety and environmental impact.

In other words: people don't choose the car because they think it's the most sustainable option. They choose it because it's convenient. That's a crucial insight for any mobility policy: if you want to increase the use of alternatives, you need to remove convenience as a barrier, not just raise awareness. One overview, one app and one budget for all modes of transport does exactly that: it makes the bike, public transport or the charging station just as obvious a choice as the car.

The intent to change is there, the convenience isn't yet

29% of cyclists want to cycle more over the next 12 months. 16% of non-cyclists are considering starting. And among those who already cycle and plan to cycle more, the car is by far the mode most likely to be replaced (46%).

What this means: the willingness to switch is there among a significant share of your employees. The question isn't whether they want to change, but whether your mobility policy makes it easy enough for them to actually do it: with automatic expense approval and an app where they can put together their own mobility mix.

Why this matters now

From 1 January 2027, companies with 50 or more employees will most likely be required to offer a mobility budget. Companies with 15 to 50 employees will follow on 1 January 2028. The BeMob figures show that demand for alternatives to the car, cycling, e-bikes, the train, already exists among employees. Companies that get their mobility budget right now are tapping into a behavioral shift that's already underway, instead of forcing one.

More than 1,500 Belgian companies and 45,000 employees already manage their mobility through a single platform, saving an average of more than 10 hours of HR admin per month. For anyone who thinks switching takes too long: with a standard setup, you're up and running within 10 working days.

Want to know how to set up a mobility budget that matches how your employees actually want to get around? Book a demo and see how Mbrella can help.

Source: FPS Mobility and Transport, BeMob Survey: modes of transport used by Belgians in 2025 (June 2026).

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