Ground transportation: The most overlooked area of corporate travel
Ground transport is one of the highest-stakes parts of business travel. Missing an airport transfer or arriving late to a meeting can quickly disrupt even the most carefully planned business trips.
The result? Missed flights, late arrivals at meetings, undermined first impressions, and rattled employees walking into presentations they should’ve felt calm for.
Yet most travel programs treat it as a footnote.
Key Takeaways
- Leaving travellers to book their own ground transport creates friction and dissatisfaction.
- You don’t need a program overhaul to include ground options.
- Your TMC can help close the gap and suggest partnerships and tech integrations.
Why ground transport deserves to be in the driver’s seat
Often considered as the ‘last mile’ of the business trip, airport transfers and local travel are mostly left to business travellers to manage themselves. They either book cabs through ride-hailing apps or rely on public transport to move between airports, hotels, offices, and event venues.
This frequently leaves travellers dissatisfied. According to the GBTA and Grab for Business study, nearly 44% of travellers associate ground transportation with at least one negative emotion, including feeling rushed, stressed, or uncertain.
- 54% cite a lack of availability during early or late hours
- 53% report long wait times
- 44% flag unclear pricing
Ad hoc bookings also add to unwarranted trip expenses. For travel managers, who already struggle to spot missed savings opportunities, this is one more headache.
The impact of refining ground transport strategy
Failing to give travellers effective ground transport can undermine the whole trip. By doing things differently, you can improve:
- Efficiency: Ground transport sets the tone for the trip. Travellers can focus on the business trip rather than spending time booking and rebooking cabs without worrying about rejections.
- Safety: By partnering with trusted suppliers, you assure your travellers of their safety and wellbeing. Around 75% of respondents in the GBTA survey rated safety as “extremely important” when selecting ground transport, with professional or verified drivers (57%), clear driver and vehicle information (57%), and live trip sharing (54%) ranking as the most valued features.
- Flexibility: Plans change. Flights are delayed, itineraries shift, and journeys get more complex. Reliable ground transport support gives options and control when they need it most.
- Data and reporting: When employees choose their own options, you lose cost control and visibility, and sustainability initiatives take a hit too. Real-time trip data can reveal hidden costs, strengthen duty of care obligations, and give everyone ‘one best way’ to book.
What travel managers can do right now
You don't need a full program overhaul to integrate ground transport. A few targeted moves can shift the needle quickly.
- Audit your current ground transport spend: Pull your expense data to understand how much your organisation is spending on ride-hailing, taxis, car services, and how much of that is off-policy or unreconciled.
- Talk to your travellers: A short internal survey can surface pain points that aggregate data misses.
- Review your preferred suppliers: Formalise your relationships with ground transport providers – these could include rail companies, airport transfer companies, chauffeur providers, or apps like Uber and Lyft.
How to build a ground transport policy that stays on budget
A ground transport policy doesn't need to be a lengthy document. It needs to be clear, practical, and accessible for travellers as a reference.
- Define approved methods by trip type: Airport transfers, local commutes to client sites, and late-night returns all have different risk profiles and cost considerations.
- Set spend thresholds: Establish per-trip or per-day limits for ground transport in your key markets. Use actual spend data, not rough estimates, to set limits that are realistic rather than aspirational.
- Integrate approved platforms into your booking tool: Bring your approved vendors into your program so you can capture the data, enforce limits, and maintain duty-of-care standards.
- Communicate the policy clearly: Embed your travel policy in the booking tool, surface it in pre-trip communications, and make sure managers and travellers both understand what's covered.
How TMCs can close the gap
A travel management company (TMC) helps travel managers bring ground transport under the same visibility and governance framework as air and hotel. That means:
- Integrated booking pathways: You can include ground transport options alongside flights and accommodation, reducing the friction that pushes travellers off-policy.
- Policy enforcement at the point of booking: Set alerts or give AI tools like Sam to your travellers to ensure policy compliance.
- Consolidated expense data: Travel management tools like FCM Platform give a clear view of ground spend across the program.
- Supplier relationships: A TMC like FCM which has solid global reach across 97+ countries and proven value can help you negotiate rate agreements and elevate safety standards.
