This summer, Héloïse Arnold went on holiday to Scotland by train. A long journey of almost 1,400 kilometres that this young woman was able to complete more peacefully thanks to a day of TTR, or “responsible travel time”, as offered to her by her employer. A day that she added to her regular leave to favour the train rather than the plane: “ This time allowed me to compensate for waiting times, because I arrived in London in the morning and in the evening I took another train, this time at night, to Inverness., she says.
But above all, according to her calculations, this option will have allowed her to divide her carbon footprint by twenty compared to the same flight. The young woman works at Vendredi, a social start-up, already aware of these issues, since it supports companies that engage in environmental or social projects.
Since its launch in the first half of 2023, this program has already been used by one in three employees (out of a total of 42). “This could be a trigger for those who want to travel in a more eco-responsible way but who are sometimes still hesitant to do so.”notes Julian Guérin, president of the company, estimating that this is similar to “a form of bonus”.
To be eligible, you must have a journey of more than six hours, and make it by train, bus, carpool or even bicycle. This leave can also be split into two half-days. “If an employee wants, for example, to travel between Paris and Barcelona by train (around seven hours), he can take Friday afternoon to travel and arrive in the evening. Then organize a return the following Monday with the first train at 6 a.m. and work immediately in the afternoon.”
A new way to travel
This company was inspired by what Ubiq had already been doing for six months. This subsidiary of Nexity, specializing in office sharing, is the first in France to have experimented with this type of leave. It goes even further, since it grants up to two days per year to its employees. “The idea came about during a brainstorming workshop. Some of our colleagues had then mentioned their desire to travel more by train, while pointing out the fact that it costs more and takes more time.”recalls Mehdi Dziri, the director of Ubiq, conceding that if this day does not resolve everything, it has the merit of partly tackling the second problem.
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