Taxis must prioritise comfort and short wait times to win business users

Comfort and short wait times have topped the list of priorities for business travellers when ordering taxis and private hire vehicles, according to a new survey by Uber for Business.

Research, carried out with 250 frequent taxi and private hire users in the UK, found that more than eight out of ten (82%) thought it was important they had enough comfort to ward off fatigue when travelling.

A third (31%) of business travellers also placed comfort in their top three priorities – a figure only matched by short wait times. 

More than three quarters (78%) said taxis and private hire cars help to simplify their work/life balance. But, more than a third (35%) also said they often get frustrated by the experience. 

The top three sources of frustration given were “unexpected delays” (51%), “travel disruptions” (40%)  and “expensing” (26%).

Almost half of respondents (47%) said they were still processing their expenses manually – and on average, these expenses were taking 40 minutes each month to complete. 

The study also found that almost two thirds (65%) of business travellers now think it is important that they are able to order green vehicles.

This rises to more than three quarters (77%) with C-level executives.

Business travellers can specify that they want a fully electric vehicle by ordering rides using Uber Green. Almost a third of Uber’s miles in London are now covered by electric vehicles.

More than half (54%) also want their company to track their carbon emissions – which happens automatically when travellers book an Uber on a business profile linked to a company account. Employers can view these emissions via the Uber for Business sustainability dashboard.

Jenna Brown, Director of Uber for Business UK, said: “When people are travelling for business they want to put their energy into their work and don’t want to put up with discomfort or delays.

"So we were not surprised to see that demands for comfort and short wait times top the list.

"It was more surprising to see that business travellers are still spending precious time manually processing taxi expenses, when it’s now so easy for companies to automate this process.”