Sustainable mobility workshop: 7 ideas to travel better and for less

Cars are expensive, traffic jams are tiring… and yet we often lack ideas to do things differently. The Ecofrugal Mobility workshop brings colleagues, neighbours or friends together to share what works for each of them: the well-planned cycle route, the good car-pooling deal, the car-sharing subscription that made it possible to get rid of the second car… It's free, friendly and open to all: the facilitation booklet guides you step by step.

In English too. Workshops can be run in English. The booklet is written in French and its English version is being prepared: contact us to receive a translated copy.

Why talk about mobility?

French figures quoted in Le Guide Écofrugal (Leduc, 2025).

Transport is one of the largest items in the carbon footprint of French people, and a large item in household budgets. Good news: it's also an area with many solutions that are both cheap and green, especially when you share them with people who make the same journeys as you.

The 7 ideas for sustainable mobility

These are the 7 ideas for action discussed during the workshop. For each one, we talk about what we already do, what works, and what we could put in place, at home and at work.

1. I walk and cycle whenever I can

For short journeys, walking and cycling are often as fast as driving, free or almost free, and excellent for your health. According to Le Guide Écofrugal, swapping the car for a bike on a 10 km round trip to work saves at least €200 a year.

At work: find other bike commuters to ride together, organise a bike swap or a repair workshop, ask for a bike shelter, a tool kit, showers.

2. I use public transport

In France, employers pay at least half of the public transport pass, and it can be combined with some cycling allowances. And the cheapest journey is the one you avoid: remote working, video calls, a co-working space near home, staggered hours to avoid the rush hour.

3. I car-pool

With 1.08 people per car on average on the way to work, there are plenty of empty seats! Car-pooling with a colleague or a neighbour splits the costs, and in France the sustainable mobility allowance lets employers cover part of their employees' car-pooling or cycling costs.

At work: offer a car-pooling platform between colleagues or with neighbouring companies, reserve parking spaces for car-poolers.

4. I rent or share a car

A car spends most of its time parked. Renting or sharing a vehicle for holidays or long journeys sometimes means you can get rid of your second car, or even your only one, and save a lot: insurance, maintenance, parking.

5. I choose a vehicle that fits my needs and pollutes less

Lighter, smaller, more economical: the right vehicle is the one that matches its real use. Should you keep your old car or switch to electric? There is no single answer: it all depends on the distance driven, the size of the vehicle and its whole life cycle. The workshop is the perfect place to hear from those who have already made the switch.

6. I practise eco-driving

Anticipating braking, starting gently, switching the engine off when stopped for more than 20 seconds, checking tyre pressure, removing an unused roof box, using the air conditioning sparingly… ADEME estimates that fuel savings of 20% are possible. It also means less stress and fewer accidents.

7. I limit my flights and their impact

A single long-haul return flight can weigh as much as a large part of the annual carbon footprint targeted for 2050. Travelling less often but for longer, taking the train for journeys within Europe, travelling light, choosing direct flights: everyone finds their own balance, without feeling guilty.

Want to go further? The Ecofrugal Energy saving workshop also covers several ideas about travel.

How does a mobility workshop work?

1. You create your workshop on monatelier-ecofrugal.fr, open to the public or for your guests only.
2. You bring 8 to 12 people together — ideally colleagues who make similar journeys, or neighbours from the same area — at the office over a lunch break, at home or in an association.
3. You run it with the booklet: a ready-to-read script, quizzes and questions to get everyone talking. The length is flexible: we recommend one hour. The group chooses the ideas it is most interested in, and picks up the others at a later meeting.
4. Everyone leaves with their own action list, and often with new car-pooling or cycling partners!

The golden rule: no debate, we talk about solutions. Whether electric cars or nuclear power are good or bad is not today's topic. The real question: what solutions are open to us, here and now? Everyone talks about what they do or would like to do, we give each other ideas and good addresses, and learn from each other. It feels more like a neighbourhood party than a training course!

Because the workshop is much more than a list of tips: it's a chance to discover the hidden talents of your colleagues — the cyclist who knows every shortcut, the eco-driving pro — and to grow together the wish to act. At a time when everyone drives alone in their car, it helps bring back community, connection and mutual help.

A recognised tool

Mon Atelier Ecofrugal is listed by ADEME Académie (the French Agency for Ecological Transition) among the facilitation tools that support behaviour change. Since 2018, more than 1,000 Ambassadors have organised workshops all over France, and more than 10,000 participants have taken part.

Ecofrugal survey of members, July 2024. See what it changes

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to give up my car to take part?

Not at all! The workshop is open to everyone, drivers included. Nobody is judged: everyone chooses the ideas that fit their situation, in town or in the countryside.

Do I need to be an expert to run the workshop?

No. The solutions come from the participants: your role is to introduce the topics and give everyone the floor. The booklet gives you the whole running order.

How much does it cost?

Nothing. Signing up, the facilitation booklet and the workshop are free, and the Ambassador who runs it is a volunteer.

And at work?

The mobility workshop is particularly useful at work, where colleagues often share the same journeys. It's always free if an employee runs it with the booklet: talk to your HR or CSR team. Organisations that want to involve a large number of people can book the XXL Ecofrugal Workshop, run by an Ecofrugal Coach. This paid format is presented on ecofrugal.fr (in French).

To go further

Flying, car-pooling, car-sharing, eco-driving, cycling, petrol, hybrid or electric cars: all these solutions are developed in the Transport section of Le Guide Écofrugal (Leduc, 2025, in French), with a foreword by Fabrice Bonnifet. More than 500 solutions to save money and reduce your ecological footprint, at work and at home.