UBA-MOB: What companies are actually willing to pay for a mobility budget

Mobility budgets are considered an effective tool for sustainable employee mobility—yet the conditions under which companies are actually willing to provide financial resources for them have hardly been researched until now. UBA-MOB closes this gap: With access to around 1,800 Climate Alliance companies, the project is the first to systematically investigate the willingness of companies in Austria to pay for mobility budgets.

Mobility budgets are well-researched as a tool for sustainable employee mobility—as are their legal framework and acceptance among employees. What is missing is knowledge about the preceding corporate decision: Under what conditions are companies even willing to provide financial resources for a mobility budget? This is exactly where UBA-MOB comes in.

For the first time, the project systematically surveys the willingness of Austrian companies to pay for mobility budgets and relates this to internal factors (company size, industry, sustainability strategy) and external framework conditions (legal requirements, regional mobility offers). To this end, a standardized questionnaire is being developed and distributed via the Climate Alliance Austria network to around 1,800 companies as well as a control group—the target is around 200 companies. The quantitative results are statistically modeled and condensed into company typologies, then deepened and explained through qualitative interviews.

The innovative value lies in the unique access to this corporate network, the linking of willingness to pay with real mobility data instead of purely declarative information, and a dedicated control group to account for the sustainability bias of Climate Alliance companies. Gender aspects are also taken into account, as mobility needs can differ depending on gender.

The results provide funding bodies with a basis for targeted funding instruments and companies with a realistic cost-benefit assessment—thereby supporting the long-term decarbonization of road transport.