Travel managers in Europe are looking to take greater control of ground transport spend amid rising fuel prices and an increased focus on green alternatives to air travel, according to new research from the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) and mobility platform FREENOW.

A recent GBTA survey of 105 travel buyers and 740 business travellers across the UK, Ireland, Germany, France, Spain, Italy and Poland found that cost is an ongoing challenge.

Close to half (49 per cent) of European travel mangers cited cost containment/savings as their company’s single greatest priority relateed to ground transportation, followed by sustainability (22 per cent) and employee experience (12 per cent). 

Travellers too expressed concerns over inflation, with 50 per cent stating the rising cost of fuel had impacted their business travel over the last year.

The survey also revealed a sharpened focus on sustainability and eco-friendly ground transportation options compared to pre-pandemic times, but priorities differ between travel managers and travellers.

Nearly two-fifths (38 per cent) of travel managers said their programme is now more focused on sustainability and eco-friendly vehicles than in 2019. An additional one in four (24 per cent) said their company’s approach to ground transport hasn’t changed since 2019, and one in five (22 per cent) characterise their company’s approach as more cost-focused.

When asked to indicate the top three strengths of their ground transport programme, travel managers cited policy enforcement, traveller safety/duty of care, cost savings and ease of payment/expense management. However, they also identified traveller satisfaction, reporting/ spending visibility and sustainability as the top three painpoints.

Travellers, meanwhile, prioritise comfort and experience, followed by cost containment/savings and sustainability – in that order. A notable exception is among French business travellers, who rank cost containment/savings higher than comfort and sustainability.

Ground transport programmes in the region are also showing increased complexity, with more options for travellers including the addition of carsharing and micromobility options.

Two in three (68 per cent) travel programmes now include carsharing, compared to 54 per cent in 2020, while eScooters (present in 58 per cent of programmes compared to 42 per cent in 2020) and eBikes (57 per cent compared to 44 per cent in 2020) are also on the rise.

Almost all European travel programmes allow travellers to use long-distance passenger rail (98 per cent) and public transport (98 per cent) – which the report suggests could be linked to the growing emphasis on sustainability in the EU with incoming legislation such the Multimodal Digital Mobility Services (MDMS) regulation and European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).  

Rental cars (89 per cent) and taxis/black cabs (73 per cent) are also largely permitted, as are private hire vehicles/independent vehicles (56 per cent).

On average, travel managers said 30 per cent of their company’s ground transport spend is on public transportation – up from 16 per cent of spend in 2020 – while approximately 20 per cent is allocated to traditional taxis and 14 per cent to private hire vehicles. 

When it comes to traveller preferences, most are interested in using long-distance passenger rail/trains (with more than 70 per cent in each market interested) and rental cars (64 per cent to 81 per cent in each market expressing interest). 

However, there are some notable differences, including business travellers in France, who are less interested in using traditional taxis and limos, while those in Spain are more interested in utilising private hire vehicles and those in Italy are more interested in eScooters.