Cycling to work: a choice that matters

As part of European Mobility Week, the European Commission’s annual campaign to promote more sustainable urban mobility, “Bike to Work Day” is back. Choosing to ride a bike to work brings numerous benefits, both for personal well-being and for the environment.

FBK actively supports sustainable mobility by involving an increasing number of employees and joining the initiative promoted by the Municipality of Trento. This initiative encourages the use of bicycles as an urban transport method, aiming to reduce the impact of home-to-work travel on local traffic, air quality, and daily life.

September 18, from 7:30 to 10:00, the number of employees arriving at FBK on foot, by bus, or by bicycle will be counted—providing a tangible measure of personal and collective commitment. This activity involves, and indeed requires, several volunteer employees to monitor entrances to the Foundation.

This action is part of a broader sustainability initiative, which began more than two years ago with the appointment of Chiara Morstabilini as FBK’s Mobility Manager and the adoption of the Foundation’s Home-Work CommutePlan (HWCP). The plan covers all FBK offices (Via Santa Croce, IRVAPP in the city center, Villa Tambosi in Villazzano, and Via Sommarive and Via alla Cascata in Povo). Employees at each location completed a questionnaire to map their commuting habits and help promote a gradual shift toward more sustainable mobility. The collected data was also shared with the Municipality of Trento to support the work of the Urban Mobility and Regeneration Office.

Over the past year, FBK has introduced a 30% discount on the Trento city public transit and installed a covered outdoor bike parking area at the Via Sommarive site. Showers and lockers are also available there for employee use.

The local and regulatory context

The Trento Province Mobility Plan, a strategic document issued by the Autonomous Province of Trento on June 30, 2017, outlines policies and interventions for the development of sustainable transport and mobility to improve residents’ quality of life.At the national level, regulatory measures such as the Relaunch Decree (Legislative Decree 34/2020) and the 2022 Budget Law (Law 234/2021) introduced initiatives like the Home-Work Commute Plan (HWCP) and a fund for sustainable mobility.  These provisions aim to reduce the environmental impact of transport through the adoption of HTCPs, the promotion of the ecobonus for the purchase of low-emission vehicles and the establishment of dedicated funds to support the transition to sustainable mobility.

You’ve got the bike, now ride it!

Since the beginning of this year, the Municipality of Trento has implemented a 15-point action plan to promote sustainable commuting among City civil servants.

1. Remote working
2. Virtual meetings
3. Feasibility analysis on coworking options
4. Safe parking for bicycles and scooters
5. Bicycle Safety
6. Changing rooms with showers
7. “Bicipolitana” (urban cycling network)
8. Second Edition of Bike to Work
9. Economic incentive for biking to work
10. Bike maintenance tools
11. Bike-sharing system
12. Scooter sharing
13. Local public transit (publicity of the “Muoversi” app among employees);
14. 30% discount on annual public transport passes;
15. Company car pooling

In terms of sustainable mobility, the city administration is actively collaborating with 43 stakeholders, covering over 21,000 employees and nearly 16,000 students. This network is kept informed through the dedicated newsletter Mobility News, and twice a year, the administration offers training sessions for 52 company Mobility Managers.

The EMMA Digital Platform
To support mobility management efforts, the Municipality of Trento has introduced the EMMA digital platform, developed by the Piemonte Region. This tool assists company and school Mobility Managers in collecting and organizing commuting data. It also provides guidance for drafting HWCPs or HSCPs (for schools) and helps design integrated, sustainable mobility solutions tailored to user needs. The platform collects information in a standardized and anonymized format to support shared mobility strategies among companies or institutions located near one another, where employees often share similar commuting patterns.
The overarching goal is to help decongest traffic by reducing reliance on private vehicles, in line with the principles of the European mobility management platform and the “Managing Mobility for a Better Future” manifesto, signed in 2012. 

FBK’s Contribution
 Every step that FBK takes—as both an institution and a community—adds to its Sustainability Plan, which is aligned with the organization’s broader Strategic Plan. Thanks to feedback from employees and collaboration with Trentino Trasporti, FBK recently helped to introduce an additional Route 5 bus from Piazza Fiera at peak time (8:00 a.m.), and a new canopy at the bus stop near La Gnoccata Restaurant in Via alla Cascata. Despite the intense pressure on Trento’s transport system—with daily flows four times higher than the resident population—traffic and commuting conditions can improve through collaborative efforts and employee feedback. It’s a chain of commitments—well-aligned and well-oiled, like a bicycle in motion.