But what impact could driverless cars
have on ground transport programmes in the coming decades and will they become a cheaper option in the long-term? Ground- scope’s McCallion is not sure these vehicles will become a major game-changer within the industry.
“These cars will have to be owned by
targeting to drive savings. It helps from a CSR [corporate social responsibility] per- spective, too, with potentially fewer car journeys being taken.” Groundscope’s McCallion has also seen
a trend for more ride-sharing between trav- ellers from the same company – Ground- scope added this sharing function to its online booking tool last year. “This year we have had a huge uptake from our clients and we see demand for this service con- tinuing to grow,” he says. “It is eco-friendly and saves clients’ money. Travellers sharing a taxi split the costs equally and this is billed automatically after travel.” But One Transport’s Hughes is not so
sure that car-sharing has taken off among UK companies and says it is not being used as widely as it could or should be. “We have a large number of corpo-
rate clients that use it, but I’d argue that take-up across the industry is not as high as it should be,” he says. “Car-sharing is the single biggest way of controlling cost and also creating genuine eco-savings. Therefore the industry should be doing more to raise awareness.” But will this mean the end of chauf- feur or executive car services? Operators in this part of the industry point out that
“Car-sharing is certainly an area that travel managers and procurement alike are targeting to drive savings”
they offer services that are not replicated by taxi operators, such as longer-distance journeys to and from UK airports, as well as providing professional chauffeur services in countries where there may be safety concerns about using local taxis.
FUTURE GAZING
One of the most talked about technologi- cal developments in ground transport is the ‘driverless’, or ‘self-driving’ car. Google is working on the concept and there have been persistent rumours that Apple has been doing the same. Travel technology company Amadeus has predicted that these cars will be ready for public roads before 2020.
a service provider, they will need to be serviced, licensed and insured as any other taxi is, and they will need to be booked in the same way, so the only real difference is that they will not require a driver,” he says. “As in robotics, the cost of the driverless vehicle may turn out to be much higher than the cost of a taxi with a driver, with no customer service or assistance.” The increasing use of predictive data could also become a way of making ground transport services more effective and convenient in the future, according to Hailo’s Jones. “Location data with predictive analytics could deliver a level of artificial intelligence that could transform ground transport,” he says. “It is not inconceivable that pre-emptive allocation of taxis could be enabled by using location data and previous customer be- haviour to pre-empt the need for transport and allocating this to ensure the traveller is able to continue their journey in a truly seamless fashion.” Ground transport is finally coming into the spotlight as a vital element in the concept of end-to-end travel management. Technology may finally provide the solution to the frustration felt by many buyers as they try to get to grips with this traditionally unruly area of spending.˜
Global pharmaceutical company CASE STUDY
THE UK DIVISION of a multinational prescription drugs manufacturer employed Groundscope to consolidate its previously fragmented ground transport programme. This had meant that the company had only an incomplete picture of costs and data, as trips were being claimed back through expenses paid for by cash or card. There was also no VAT being reclaimed through the cash payments.
74 BBT JULY/AUGUST 2016 The company began using
Groundscope’s automated booking platform for its chauffeur services and taxis, as well as hiring people- carriers and coaches when necessary. It also employed Groundscope to manage any service issues and customer enquiries. The platform was first installed in the UK before being rolled out to other markets, starting with the client’s US division. As part of the
contract, Groundscope also resolved any customer service problems or invoice queries within each local market. This move to consolidate
ground transport has created cost savings of up to 30 per cent across the client’s markets, thanks to providing better visibility of spending and volume, which has, in turn, helped to drive more discounts from suppliers.
In the UK, the average trip price has fallen by 20 per
cent from, £59.99 to £48, which has saved the company around £650,000 per year, based on more than 55,000 annual journeys.
Adoption of the integrated
ground transport platform has been increased through a programme of staff training, alongside a multi-faceted in-house communication strategy. This has helped to push up adoption levels to 99.1 per cent for the programme.
BUYINGBUSINESSTRAVEL.COM
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