Business Travel

Ways to change up business travel

• Alternative reimbursement structures:

  Stop offering a company car or paying for petrol as a work perk. Instead of giving that kind of incentive to driving, offer alternatives like a travel allowance that reimburses all forms of transport at competitive rates.

• Car sharing:

  Have cars on site that employees can use to make business trips, meaning there is less pressure to own their own vehicle. This can be done by maintaining your own pool of cars, or by partnering with a car club such as Co Wheels, who can make some of their cars available to your employees. The advantage of this is that you don’t have to use any on-site parking for this purpose, or have the responsibility of maintaining the cars and tracking their use. Cars owned by CoMoUK accredited car clubs like Co Wheels will also be exempt from the traffic filters.

• Pool bikes:

  Maintain a pool of bikes that employees can use for work trips, cutting down on the need to drive for a meeting or to grab lunch. Some companies in Oxford that offer pool or bikes are Bainton Bikes, which offers traditional or electric pool bikes, Brompton Bikes, which offers folding bikes, and Electric Bike Sales, which offers e-bikes.

• Public transport:

  Encourage public transport use for work trips wherever you can. For instance, offer things like discounted or free season tickets on buses and trains; or ask staff to sign off expenses on longer car trips in advance if there is a public transport alternative available.

• Deliveries:

  Companies like Pedal and Post and Velocity offer cargo bike delivery services that are as quick as you need them to be. You can also purchase or hire a cargo bike to use as part of your fleet.

• Further Resources:

  Check out CoMoUK’s Shared Transport kit for employers. Although its advice is specifically for Scottish businesses, a lot of the information about things like using pool bikes or shared cars is general.