THE IMPACT OF COMPANY CARS ON TRAVEL BEHAVIOUR

The last two decades, the phenomenon of company cars has become very popular in Belgium due to their favourable fiscal treatment. Given the high number of registrations and the current use of company cars in the wage policies of the companies, the impact of company cars on our daily mobility can no longer be ignored. Up to now, researches on mobility and travel behaviour in Belgium did not focus in particular on the phenomenon of company cars. But as they actually are a form of nearly free transport that can be used not only for professional, but also for private trips, it can not be ignored that they influence our mobility landscape. Findings from a recent study indicate that the annual amount of kilometres covered by company cars is higher than that of private cars. However, no distinction between professional and private kilometres could be made. The main objective of this research is to provide more insight in the impact of company cars on travel behaviour.Since existing data sets were not available, a survey was organised to collect the necessary data. Both employees with and without a company car were asked to fill in a questionnaire, asking for their mobility behaviour in general and their mobility behaviour on a reference day in particular. Based on the collected data, comparisons are made between employees with a company car and employees without a company car. First, the usual mobility behaviour for both groups of employees, such as the annual mileage, the frequency of professional trips and the usual transportation mode for home-work trips, is compared. Next, the trips made on the reference day are analysed: e.g. the number of trips, the mode of transportation and the purpose of the trips are compared for employees with a company car and employees without a company car. Finally, the substitution effect is modelled: it is analysed how people would behave without a company car, and what the effect of gender, age and education on this change of behaviour is