Feature: Ground Transport


Getting A GRIP


GROUND transportation is a little like the relation you don’t talk about, remembered with a card at Christmas but otherwise out of sight, out of mind. Although it represents the third- largest element in terms of expenditure in corporate travel budgets – after air fares and hotel accommodation – many companies simply consign ground transport to the back burner. Which means their use of buses, coaches,


taxis and limos for airport transfers, transporting staff to product launches, AGMs, conferences and training sessions goes largely unmanaged. To be fair, it is often difficult for organisations


to identify what they are spending on this segment of travel as it is a large, hidden cost, often paid for in cash, and the industry has a highly fragmented supply base with low technology adoption. Nevertheless, some would say there seems


to be a laissez-faire attitude among corporate buyers, which is of major concern to travel management companies, who often find clients are unaware of the range of tools available to control ground transportation costs. “Large companies with big budgets will carefully scrutinise their outlay on air fares and


Ground transport might be only the third largest area of travel spend, but there are still considerable savings to be made by getting it in order. Colin Ellson investigates


hotels, but often have no idea of what they are spending on executive travel closer to home,” says Brian Merry, the Hogg Robinson Group’s director of ancillary products. “It is not unusual for some to have up to 30 suppliers of taxis etc. Our task is to look at ways of consolidating their use, matching products to the client’s exact requirements and providing detailed management information on all aspects of the operation. That way, a member of staff flying from London to Sydney, say, and travelling to meetings by taxi might be on the other side of the world, but would have their


34 I THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE 18 I THE BUSINESS TRAVEL MAGAZINE


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