Employees want multi-modal travel options for business journeys

A major new survey of 4,000 employees who drive for business in France, Germany, Spain and the UK, has found that the majority would like their companies to make it easier for them to undertake work trips via multi-modal transport.

The study by Opinium Research found that 88% of younger employees (born 1996-2015) have used different modes of transport to complete the same journey, either business or leisure, in the last year, and while the percentage drops for older (born pre-1964) workers, it’s still an impressive 61%.

Respondents said they had selected multi-modal transport because it was:

• less expensive (31%)
• fast (27%)
• relaxing (18%)
• more environmentally friendly (21%)
• and safe (19%).

Employers are slow to react

However, more than half of respondents said their employers did not encourage multi-modal travel, relying instead on employees using their own cars for business trips. In fact, workers are more likely to use multi-modal means of transport for leisure trips than work journeys.

Oz Choudhri, Head of Mobility Solutions at Enterprise, which commissioned the research, said: “Companies may be missing out on opportunities to reduce costs, risk and environmental impact while improving employee retention by giving more flexible, accessible and affordable mobility options.” 

These options will still have to include car travel, with employees estimating that 70%  of their business journeys would not be possible by public transport alone.

“This new research highlights that there is now a great opportunity for the establishment and growth of the shared mobility ecosystem. This could result in the creation of even more multi-modal mobility hubs, where workers are able to pick up a car when and where they need one, whilst using other modes of transport as part of the same trip,” said Choudhri. “We’ve integrated our network of locations and vehicles into the wider private and public transport ecosystem, with the ambition to be part of mobility solutions that meet the needs of business travellers today and tomorrow.” 

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