From rising EV-Charging costs to a Smart Mobility Budget: a practical guide

The Belgian government is moving towards a mobility budget for all employees—both those with and without a company car. While the ultimate goal is to cover everyone, a logical first step is to start with employees who already have a company car.

Company car employees receive a fantastic benefit, but should employers also cover unlimited usage costs, including fuel, EV charging, and parking?

Should charging at home, public fast charging stations, and offices be limitless? With ongoing discussions around CREG tariffs, more employees are shifting towards expensive public charging instead of home charging. Additionally, many companies are offering incentives for sustainable mobility, but the question remains: how should these be funded?

The answer is a mobility budget—a structured approach that makes employees responsible for their commuting behavior and costs while encouraging sustainable choices.

Step 1: Define the Budget Principles

The government’s vision is to base the mobility budget on real costs as much as possible. Companies have three main options for structuring this budget:

1. Provide a variable commuting budget based on the employee’s home-work distance, giving them the flexibility to travel to the office daily if needed, plus a lump sum for additional travel, including their parking costs.
2. Provide a fixed commuting budget while limiting the cost of public transport subscriptions and tickets, ensuring that employees who live further away are treated fairly.
3. Offer an unlimited charging/fuel budgetfor employees who must travel frequently for work (e.g., sales roles or project visits).

Step 2: Determine How the Budget Can Be Used

We understand that transitioning from an unlimited budget to a mobility budget can be challenging and requires adjustment. Therefore I suggest to extend the amount of options that the mobility budget can be used for!

To ensure flexibility, the mobility budget should cover all commuting related expenses, including:

🚗 EV charging – at home, at work, or at public stations. (including the costs of a home-charging station)

🚴 Bike allowance – supporting employees who choose cycling.

🚆 Public transport – including tickets, subscriptions, and train passes.

🚲 Bike leasing or purchase – even through retailers like Decathlon.

🏢 Parking fees – for parking at train-stations or at the office.

The Result: More Flexibility, Smarter Spending

While this approach sets clear limits on spending, it also provides employees with greater flexibility and additional benefits, such as the ability to allocate their budget towards bike leasing, public transport, or home EV charging installations. Employees who may have been frustrated by fuel or charging limits now gain the ability to use their budget for other commuting needs—just like forward-looking companies like Proximus have successfully implemented.

By rolling out a structured mobility budget, companies can reduce costs while offering employees a modern, fair, and flexible commuting solution. However, implementation may pose challenges, such as initial resistance from employees accustomed to unlimited budgets or administrative complexities in tracking diverse spending categories. Companies can address these by clearly communicating benefits, gradually phasing in the budget, and leveraging automated tools for seamless budget management. Now is the time to stay ahead of upcoming government regulations and lead the way in corporate mobility management.

Afterthoughts: Addressing Key Questions

🔹 Adding the company car itself to the mobility budget? Yes, this can be done, but it’s not mandatory. This aligns with the federal mobility budget, which offers a framework for employees to combine a company car with sustainable mobility options or a cash-out alternative. We will explore this topic in greater depth in a future article.

🔹 Including the cost of an EV charging point at home? Absolutely. The cost of a home charging point should be included in the yearly budget, typically between €400–600 per year. This ensures fairness: employees with home charging benefit from cheaper rates, while those without a charging point can use their budget for more expensive public charging.

🔹 Should we allow overspending? Yes. Employees should have the option to overspend and pay the extra via their gross salary or 13th-month bonus, with clear administrative processes in place to ensure transparency and ease of use. Employers should define how these additional costs are deducted, ensuring employees understand the process and have the flexibility to manage their commuting expenses effectively.

With these considerations in place, a mobility budget becomes an empowering and flexible solution that truly adapts to employees’ commuting needs while keeping corporate costs in check.

Roeland Vanrenterghem, CEO Vaigo | Mobility Policy Expert

With years of experience in corporate mobility, Roeland has seen and analyzed hundreds of policies that influence employee commuting behavior. As CEO of Vaigo, he helps large enterprises simplify and manage those mobility policies, making sustainable choices effortless for both HR teams and employees.