Delhaize

Discover how Belgium's oldest supermarket has taken a fresh look at mobility and puts it into practice.

The highlights of Delhaize

Highlight 1

2010

the year in which Delhaize and De Lijn joined hands

Highlight 2

4,8%

of employees take the tram or bus

Highlight 3

2300

company bicycles being used by workers and office staff

HIGHLIGHT 4

+ 300

active subscriptions for employees

n April, Delhaize launched a new motto: "Living life to the full". A wonderful claim, a promise which Delhaize has been living up to for over 150 years. The supermarket - Europe's first ever - always fully keeps up with the latest trends. And this also applies to mobility. About 12 500 people work at Delhaize, so there are large numbers of people who have to get to their place of work.

Many stores, few kilometre

Shelley Heugen, mobility manager at Delhaize is happy to take you through their story

128 stores: this means lots of cashiers, shelf fillers and store room assistants do not need to travel far to work. "Many employees in our stores live locally. On average, they live 14 kilometres from their work, which is below the average home-work distance of Belgians. It is logical that many employees choose public transport, leaving their car at home. Delhaize offers a range of options to make using public transport attractive. In addition to season tickets and multimodal tickets for De Lijn, the MIVB Brussels local transport network or the Belgian railways (NMBS), we also for instance offer our workers and office staff a bicycle", explains Shelley Heugen, mobility manager at Delhaize. "Of course there is a major difference between our stores and our head office in Brussels where people usually come from further away. We offer company cars but naturally also draw their attention to the alternatives."

Bus and tram use on the rise

By now there are about 600 Delhaize employees who make use of De Lijn services. The intention is to further increase this number. "We run a pre-payment scheme, which means that our personnel does not need to advance the costs of a bus and tram season ticket and we have less administrative work. Evidently a win-win situation."

Delhaize and De Lijn joined forces in 2010. "Apart from De Lijn, we also work closely with MIVB and NMBS, whose City Pass we offer, for instance. Delhaize certainly remains open to other partnerships and to new products. We always keep abreast of the latest developments and we consider whether they are relevant for us", concludes Heugen.

Charters for cyclists

It is striking that many Delhaize employees prefer to cycle to work. At present, more than 2 300 company bikes are in use. "Thanks to our bicycle programme, this has become an attractive option to get to work. We purchase bicycles and make them available to our workers and office staff: both conventional bicycles and e-bikes. Delhaize has drawn up a unique charter for cyclists which requires people to go to work by bike three days per working week. We want our employees to deal with mobility as flexibly as possible."

Starting at Delhaize means starting with sustainability

Delhaize not only lends a helping hand, it also gives people a nudge in the right direction. Everyone who takes up a job with Delhaize attends a presentation by way of induction. It shows what is expected of them. "One of the topics in the presentation is mobility. We want to make it clear to our personnel right from the start of their career with Delhaize that giving some thought to the best way to travel to work is highly appreciated. Efficient mobility is also promoted locally, depending on the manager of the particular branch. If a store manager comes up with a question or suggestion, I will see how I can help to get them the right information" says Heugen. Delhaize wants its employees to take as wide a view of mobility as possible. This makes sense in terms of quality of life and is at the same time more sustainable. And it is the only way to remain up to date over the next 150 years.

Summing up the benefits of collaborating with the Lijn

• pre-paid scheme: easy for Delhaize and for its personnel

• season tickets for bus and tram, possibly combined with the train

• good contacts with De Lijn's customer management

About Delhaize

Delhaize was established in 1867 and now has 787 stores in Belgium and Luxembourg. It employs about 12 500 people.

Visit Delhaize at www.delhaize.be.

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Your possibilities

As an organization, you have different opportunities to offer your employees suitable public transport.

Contribution towards travel pass

Unlimited* travel by bus or tram. If your employer contributes to the cost, you pay just 5 or 16 euro** per month as the minimum contribution is 72%.

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Intervention in the 10-journey ticket - Business

Do your employees commute to work 1 to 2 times per week or do they frequently have business trips? Then the business 10-journey ticket is the solution: a flexible and cost-effective travel ticket.

Contribution towards a 50-journey ticket

The most flexible ticket for occasional journeys. Purchased or reimbursed by your employer.

Contribution for tickets

Not all your employees travel to work the same way every day. Sometimes they make business trips by car, and sometimes they use public transport. A flexible pattern of mobility like this requires a flexible solution.

Businesses

Tickets via the app

Easy and cheap: that is what the digital ticket is all about. This digital ticket is the cheapest way of paying for a single journey by bus or tram. Your employees request an ticket using the app, and you pay the invoice afterwards.

Businesses