1 October 2024

As part of our efforts to make Leiden University more sustainable, we are introducing a new mobility policy and adjusting our commuting allowance from 1 November. This policy aims to promote sustainable commuting and will be facilitated by a user-friendly app by the name of Shuttel.

Changes to commuting allowance

The new policy was developed together with the Local Consultative Body, the union representation for staff. From 1 November, travel to work by public transport will be paid for in full. You will use a Shuttel card instead of your current OV-chipkaart.

If you do not travel to work by public transport but by car, bicycle or on foot, for example, you will continue to receive an allowance of 7 cents per kilometre. The allowance is not for the first 10 kilometres and is for a maximum one-way trip of 45 kilometres. The maximum allowance of 45 euros per month will no longer apply.

Sustainability

With the new policy, we as a university want to accommodate the wish to improve the current commuting allowance and make it more sustainable. Since July 2024, employers have been required to track their travel emissions. This means the number of kilometres travelled and the mode of transport used and applies to commuting and domestic business travel. We are going to use the Shuttel app to comply with this new sustainability legislation. 

User-friendly app

Shuttel offers an all-in-one app for all your domestic travel. This makes it easy to track your travel and view your travel allowances. You can register your travel in the app or the My Shuttel web environment. In Shuttel, you record not only your travel to work but also your homeworking days and domestic business travel. You will need to register these in Shuttel to receive not only your travel allowance but also your internet and homeworking allowance and your domestic business travel allowance.

Next steps

This new policy will apply for one year from 1 November and will be evaluated during that year. Over the next month, we will provide weekly updates on the staff members’ website and in the staff newsletter. You will receive an email from Shuttel on 16 October asking you to activate your Shuttel account after which you will automatically receive your personal Shuttel card.