Better multi-modal travel options for work wanted

Almost half (42%) of UK office workers would like their employer to make it easier to use a mix of transport options for business trips, new research from Enterprise Rent-A-Car suggests.

Twice as many (85%) think they and/or their employers should also be incentivised to encourage multi-modal journeys, with tax breaks or similar rewards.

Currently, employees are making more than twice as many multi-modal trips for leisure purposes - 37% - as opposed to 18% who had only used multi-modal transport for work.

Enterprise says this indicates that there is an opportunity for companies to adopt more multi-modal options to satisfy employee travel needs.

However, nearly two-thirds (64%) of those surveyed say their companies do not currently encourage – or do not know if they encourage – multi-modal travel, with most relying on employees to use their personal car for work trips (87%).

When asked why they had used multi-modal journeys, respondents said because they were less expensive (33%), fast (27%), relaxing (22%), more environmentally friendly (20%) and safe (20%). 

Oz Choudhri, head of Mobility Solutions UK & Ireland at Enterprise, said: “The private car still has a role to play in business travel, but there is an opportunity to increase multi-modal journeys, as today nearly six out of ten work trips are being made in private cars.

“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.”

The research showed younger Generation Z workers, born between 1996 and 2015, are especially keen on multi-modal travel: almost nine in 10 (88%) of Gen Z employees had made a multi-modal journey in the last 12 months, compared with only 57% of Baby Boomers (those born before 1964).

Gen Z are keener to avoid using their own car for a business trip (60%) compared to 41% of Baby Boomers.

When it comes to travelling for work, 58% of all business trips are taken in a private car, and the majority of those surveyed (81%) said they use their own car for at least some of their business trips every year.

More than two-thirds of (68%) of respondents said that, on average, their business journeys were not possible by public transport alone.

Choudhri said: “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.”

One-in-five (21%) of respondents said they lived within easy walking distance of a car rental branch and one-in-four (24%) within easy walking distance to a car club vehicle, suggesting that some form of multi-modal journey involving rental may be possible for millions of office workers in the UK.

Choudhri concluded: “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.”