Olympus Mobility and KBC have been working together since 2018.
We integrated a lot of mobility options for individuals into KBC Mobile. Just think of buying tickets at SNCB and De Lijn, parking at Q-Park and with 4411, refuelling at Q8 or booking a Cambio.
KBC users enjoy all these options.
Every day, thousands of people buy their tickets via KBC Mobile.
With all those choices, it’s no wonder KBC has been able to call itself Belgium’s best banking appfor several years now and is among the top 3 worldwide.
We are now extending that success to business owners and professional account holders.
Because one app, that’s something we realised. But one invoice? That was still missing in KBC Mobile.
With Business Mobility, entrepreneurs also enjoy administrative simplification.
Big news! Ghent Olympian Tim Brys joins the Olympus Mobility team.
You know this rower from his 5th place at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, which he won together with his rowing partner Niels Van Zandweghe.
By the way, you found him in the Container Cup in 2020. There he beat the cycling record of cyclist Toon Aerts. Tim is a hidden cyclist, but in 2024 he will continue his Olympic rowing performances at the Olympic Games in Paris.
He is a true Olympian. In addition, his competitions also have a sustainable side. He always travels by public transport. Add his Ghentian roots into the mix and you get a perfect fit with Olympus Mobility.
Ambassadorship
As an ambassador, he can count on the Olympus app in the coming years to register his rowing kilometers … but also to support his environmentally conscious transport of course.
Tim: “As rowers, we constantly use water. It is therefore important to me to take care of the planet, both in my sport and beyond. That is why I choose to support a Ghent company like Olympus Mobility in their sustainable mobility solutions.”
His impressive achievements can be followed on the social media of Tim and Olympus Mobility. Keep an eye out!
Discover why sustainable mobility is important to Tim Brys
Many factors play a role here: the desired flexibility, climate changes and, more broadly, the total environmental impact of our joint need to travel, the price, the risks and the efficiency.
The mobility needs of our customers are therefore constantly changing. They are no longer only concerned with their own fleet but with the mobility needs of all their employees. We as leasing companies try to take up our advisory role with regard to future evolutions as well as possible.
In addition to our main activity of offering cars in operational leasing, we have also been offering bicycles for years, and we also continue in our advisory role in mobility solutions and we are one of the driving forces in the evolution towards more sustainable company fleets.
The reason for the partnership with Olympus Mobility
Olympus Mobility has already gained a lot of experience in Belgium in offering multimodal mobility services and contacts were made with Olympus Mobility several years ago through our leasing company Westlease.
We were already able to get acquainted with the all-in-one mobility app from Olympus Mobility, which makes it easy for employees to access different mobility services with one app.
We wanted to offer these mobility services to all customers of the lease companies of the International Car Lease Holding. Together with Shell Mobility Solutions and Olympus Mobility, we found the right structure to roll this out.
The concrete plans to guide their customers with regard to mobility
In a first phase, we started investing in bicycle leasing several years ago. A formula that is very successful and continues to grow.
A second pillar consists of guiding our customers in making their fleet more sustainable. This primarily concerns an analysis of the mobility needs of the employees. For whom is a full electric car ideal, for whom hybrid, who should continue to drive diesel or petrol?
We also advise on suitable charging solutions for electric cars. At home, on the road and at work.
Finally, we are committed to offering multimodal mobility services. This on the basis of the Olympus Mobility app that gives users easy access to public transport, shared cars, shared bicycles, shared scooters, taxis, Uber, Waterbus, international train tickets, …
In 2020, he teamed up with his rowing partner Niels Van Zandweghe to compete in Tokyo. The duo eventually achieved an impressive 5th place.
That same year, he also broke Toon Aerts’ cycling record in the Container Cup. That is quite an achievement!
To be honest, we are not really surprised. After all, we have yet to see Tim without his bike. Except on water, that is.
Tim Brys, Olympus Mobility ambassador
Next stop: Paris 2024
Those who know a bit about major sporting events are aware that the Olympic Games will take place in 2024.
Sounds like a logical next stop for Tim Brys, doesn’t it?
He will compete in numerous races throughout 2023 to secure his spot in the Belgian rowing team.
It promises to be an exciting year ahead for our ambassador!
Tim’s Journey
The Olympus team wants to support our ambassador on his journey to Paris.
Consequently, you will see some posts appearing on our social media throughout the year with #TimsJourney.
Would you like to support him as well? Make sure to follow us on your favourite social media channel: LinkedIn – Facebook – Instagram.
On this page we keep track of developments related to: Tim Brys’ upcoming competitions, results …
You can follow everything closely. A bit like ESPN, actually, or even a dedicated fan page.
4/02 – GRS indoor competition
Our ambassador spent the last few months preparing with his teammates. After three stages, the time had come: the first race of the season, the ergometer championship in Ghent.
248 rowers competed, each in their own ranking, for the best time on the indoor rowing machines. Tim rowed the 2000 metres in 6 minutes, taking 5th place.
His teammate and world indoor rowing champion Ward Lemmelijn lived up to his title and came first.
Congratulations to all the rowers!
March 12 – International Riverhead
Gold! At the international skiff competition in Seneffe, Tim Brys secured first place.
After a 6-kilometre battle, our ambassador won with some 20 seconds ahead of fellow Belgian Shark Ruben Claeys.
That’s not the first time, by the way.
In both 2019 and 2022, our ambassador could also call himself the winner. In the process, he also improved his time this year (24:17 in 2022, 22:59 in 2023).
In Tim’s own words: ‘Good race. 😊’
Congratulations, Tim!
Practice in Varese (Italy)
Behind the scenes of the stage in Varese to prepare for the race in Piediluco. 🚣🏼♂️
1 – 2 April – Outdoor competition Piediluco
Two bronze medals!
The Belgian Sharks took third place in the international rowing competition both Saturday and Sunday. 🥉
Congratulations Tim, Ward, Ruben and Gaston!
21 – 23 April – Belgian Championship Hazewinkel
Our ambassador is on a winning streak!
He found himself on stage “amongst the youngsters”, as Tim likes to call them.
Congratulations on your silver medal, Tim!
6 to 7 May – Ghent May Regatta
Nothing like a win in your own city. Except for two wins, that is. At the KRSG Regatta in Ghent, Tim Brys could call himself the winner twice. A wonderful achievement, Tim!
25 tot 28 May – European Championship in Bled
The European Championships in Bled was the first competition where Tim competed against the other European heavyweight skiffeurs. In 2022, he made a switch from the lightweights, a choice that clearly suits him.
With the Olympus Mobility sticker on his skiff, he rowed four races throughout the weekend. In the B final, where six European skiffeurs compete for places seven to 12, Tim led for most of the race. With silver in the B final, he secured a nice 8th place at the European Championships.
After Peteghem’s act was approved in 2021, companies surged into action. You probably remember the endless meetings on the topic of adapting your mobility policy, and how to make it greener.
The time has finally come: electric cars are officially becoming the ‘new normal’. And that is a good thing. Electric cars are both better for the environment and cost-saving.
That may very well sound like music to your ears. Your organisation’s CO2 emissions are reduced, while you save on employee travel costs.
Moreover, the charging stations in your company car park are currently 100% tax deductible.
Not up to speed about the new legislation yet? Read briefly about the tax changes here:
Tax deductibility for fuel cars will be systematically reduced after 1 July 2023.
For plug-in hybrids, this rule has already applied since 1 January 2023.
Cars purchased after this date are in a transitional phase.
During this period, tax benefits will be systematically phased out until 2028.
What if you buy a car after 2026 and it runs (partly) on fossil fuel? Then it is no longer tax deductible.
Mobility trend 2. The implementation of a legal mobility budget
This seamlessly brings us to the second mobility trend, as electrification goes hand in hand with the legal mobility budget. And here’s why.
When you implement the legal mobility budget in your company, you start by calculating the Total Cost of Ownership. This is done based on the current cost of your employee’s fuel car.
Your employee can then spend this budget on 3 pillars:
Pillar 1: an environmentally friendly car
Pillar 2: sustainable means of transport or rental costs
Pillar 3: cash
When you look up the term ‘environmentally friendly car’ on Google, you will notice that the focus is on electric models.
Your employees are free to use the remainder of the budget for sustainable means of transport, rental costs and international train journeys with the family. Weekend in Berlin, anyone?
So, weekend getaway or even something else: you will find that the legal mobility budget brings with it a wide choice of mobility options. Your employees are therefore free to go wherever they wish, each time using the most optimal means of transport.
You may think that this sounds good, and indeed it does. Bank Van Breda and numerous other companies are very much in favour of it, and according to the coalition agreement employees without a company car will also be able to enter this tax advantageous framework in the future!
Mobility trend 3. Employees opt for sustainable mobility
If the figures from VIAS Institute and FPS Mobility and Transport are to be believed, the number of teleworkers has doubled in four years. This is reflected in fewer kilometres travelled, as well as opting for alternative means of transport. This trend continues to grow.
Let’s look at the numbers.
One in three Belgians opted for public transport or cycling more often in 2022.
Young peopleare also increasingly ditching the car in favour of commuting by bus or train.
Sustainable mobility is clearly gaining momentum, and with the new technological evolutions, it is not going away any time soon. Just look at the increasing use of e-bikes.
Autonomous vehicles also need to be taken notice of. Who knows, you might soon be enjoying a ride with colleagues in a self-driving car!
Mobility trend 4. Employers opt for flexible mobility policy
That combination creates an increased focus towards a cafeteria plan.
But what is a cafeteria plan? Allow us to explain.
It is a flexible salary package that allows employees to choose their own benefits, without rising salary costs.
Those benefits could include extra days off or an internet subscription, for example, but also: sustainable mobility. That way, their salary package is personalised.
You don’t need us to tell you that this is an asset in the battle for talent.
Mobility trend 5. Mobility-as-a-Service is rising in popularity
More than 97% of 18- to 35-year-olds are using mobility apps today. That’s a whole lot of people. Belgians normally install several apps to order tickets.
That in itself is not surprising, given that more than half of Belgians have shown interest in an integrated platform. Meet our hero: Mobility-as-a-Service, or simply ‘MaaS’.
A MaaS platformbundles all available means of transport: train, tram, bus, as well as shared cars and bikes. The Olympus app also includes parking options, taxis and charging cards.
With a MaaS platform, you therefore only need to download one app for all your tickets.
A MaaS app makes sustainable mobility easy for your employees. It allows them to catch the train and then rent a shared bike to their final destination. All with a single app.
For companies where greening of their mobility policy enjoys top priority, this is a genuine must-have.
When your employees pay a benefit in kind (BIK), it is difficult as an organisation to reduce the costs of private travel. To save on petrol costs, you can of course tell your employees to change their driving style and remove unnecessary items from their cars, but old habits die hard. With a company car, you keep losing a lot of money.
So how do you cut back? Reduce the costs linked to commuting and business travel. This is easy to do with alternative mobility.
Example in figures
Let’s look at the numbers. In this fictional example, we are travelling from Ghent to Antwerp. We depart from Bevrijdingslaan 288 and arrive at Uitbreidingstraat 2 for a meeting around 9 am.
By car
First of all, we travel this route by petrol car. We drive 62.2 km, with the petrol price at € 2.025 per litre. With a consumption of 6.8 per 100 km, the fuel cost comes to € 17.13. However, that is only one aspect of the total cost. Added to this is the consumption cost (cost of kilometres driven with the leased car, € 24.88) and the parking cost (€ 5).
The result? 1 outbound trip costs € 27.27.
By car
By public transport
That same route can easily be done by public transport. A train ticket from Ghent to Antwerp costs (round trip) €16.60 with a Standard Multi. We also take the bus twice, which costs € 3.40 with a ten-ride card. We covered the last kilometres with a Blue-bike (€ 3.75).
The result? 1 outward trip costs € 14.45.
By public transport
What about loss in time?
A car trip between Ghent and Antwerp takes about 45 minutes, but that is without any traffic jams. Realistically, such a trip takes (at least) 90 minutes.
That is the same as the time required using public transportation. But unlike a car trip, you can actually spend this time usefully, because your hands are free to answer e-mails or prepare for meetings. On top of that, you arrive without having had to deal with the stress of traffic jams.
Time and cost savings
When using public transport you can make optimal use of your time and you save € 12.82 per journey. If you take this route four times a month, you will save € 51.28. This amounts to € 615.36 on an annual basis. For a company with 20 company cars, this comes down to annual savings of € 12,307.20! Your organisation can therefore save a lot of money by implementing alternative means of transport.
Employees can also enjoy discounted rates and take advantage of a smart NMBS algorithm in the Olympus app. Besides saving on petrol costs, you will also significantly reduce your administrative expenses. KPMG and Sweco are already doing it.
Want to learn more about sustainable business mobility? Contact us.
