How to Manage a Ground Transportation Program

It’s time to refresh my blog on ground transportation and its importance to the business traveler.

As a business traveler myself, the most challenging and frustrating part of my journey continues to be ground transportation. Securing the ground transportation I need always ends up getting done at the last minute. It isn’t typically presented as an option when booking the trip nor is a reminder sent prior to the trip, so any type of ground transport is out of sight and out of mind until the day of travel.

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Some companies now recognize this and are working with technology suppliers to address the need for Mobility as a Service (MaaS) within their travel programs.  The need demands more than a transportation company.  You need a tech company that’s not only building for the present, but looking at the future. Think autonomous cars, air taxis, and more.  

At Deem, we have embarked on the MaaS journey. We are  initially incorporating Uber for corporate travel into the Etta business travel software booking flow. Etta sends travelers reminders to book transportation as their travel date approaches. And Uber is just the start of our plans to add mobility options into Etta.

Duty of care and business travel safety

Duty of care in corporate travel  is another concern for companies. Especially now, it is essential for companies to put traveler health and safety at the top of their duty of care priority list. 

But how good is a duty of care strategy and policy if you don’t have visibility into 100% of your employees’ journey? Using booking software that has integrated mobility options provides visibility into the final leg of the journey,  where your travelers are on the ground.

Arguably, the ground transportation segment is the most vulnerable part of any travelers’ journey.  When taking a ride hail or car service they are in an enclosed space, typically alone and perhaps in a city for the first time, where the traveler is in the complete physical control of a probable stranger. The tension can escalate when businesses don’t fully manage ground transportation and mobility within their travel programs.

Managing your business travel program

Ground transportation has become easier to manage. There are now technologies, like Deem, available to companies and TMCs that enable managing all categories of ground spend for all levels of travelers on your existing booking platforms. This includes ride hail, shuttle, car rental, luxury chauffeured and black car service. There are also  Car and Driver products like National Car and Driver in China. 

Traditionally, companies and TMCs have managed only some of these modes. The challenge is to choose the technology partner that can provide more complete connectivity to a multitude of options. Deem’s technology can manage this content. 

Deem is unique in not only offering all the different ground options mentioned above, but using our existing integrations in the managed platforms in which our customers and TMC partners already work.

Ground transportation and mobility need to be included as an essential part of every company’s policy and travel program. Companies that have adopted a strategy around this category have better compliance, happier stakeholders and millions of dollars saved.

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Curious how to improve compliance, cost control, and traveler satisfaction? Get started with a demo of Etta.

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