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Travelling by car, taxis and public transit for short trips (otherwise known as ‘last-mile transportation’) is such a normal part of business travel that most of us won’t give safety a thought – even when buckling up our seat belts.
But the reality is, ground transportation is statistically the least safe part of any business trip, and poses safety risks that many business travellers overlook.
When FREENOW and the Global Business Traveller Association (GBTA) surveyed business travellers across four countries (Ireland, Spain, Germany and the UK) a perception gap emerged around the risks involved in last-mile transportation.
Let’s explore what that perception gap is, why it matters and how to mitigate the risks of ground transportation on business trips for your staff.
The majority of business travellers we surveyed incorrectly cited air or rail as more dangerous than ground transport. This misconception matters because it can lead to your employees taking inadequate business travel safety precautions.
Travel managers recognise this - 56% of those we surveyed cited safety risks as a top challenge when organising last mile transportation for staff, with 30% ranking it as their number one concern.
Studies have shown that Europe has the safest roads in the world, but unfortunately, that does nothing to protect your travelling employees. In fact, it can make travelling in foreign places higher risk, because employees might engage in riskier activities – like walking, biking, or scooting late at night or in urban areas – because their perceptions of safety are shaped by their home countries.
These activities might have a different risk profile outside of Europe where road conditions, traffic laws, and driver behaviour are different.
Mitigating ground transportation risk on business trips requires accountability on both sides: Employers have a responsibility to take a proactive approach to risk management, but equally, business travellers have a responsibility to take adequate safety precautions when travelling in foreign places for work.
Make ground transport a focus in your travel risk management plan (TRM) - Providing pre-trip briefings for high-risk areas is an important part of your TRM plan. However, 31% of travel managers we surveyed said they don’t always include ground transportation in these briefings. Including last mile travel in TRM briefings will maximise safety for your staff.
Include ground transportation in risk assessments - 82% of the travel managers we surveyed said their company performs risk assessments for trips to high-risk destinations and 72% require pre-trip approvals for some/all trips. But interestingly, ground transport isn’t always considered in these approval processes.
Educate and train staff - While business travellers have a responsibility to take safety precautions when travelling in foreign places, you also have a duty of care to train them. Three in five travel programmes (62%) conduct regular business travel safety training. However, only about half of these programmes (56%) “always” or “often” cover ground transport.
Partner with a trusted transport vendor - Working with a regulated taxi service through transport platforms like FREENOW offer a safer alternative to rental cars, particularly when employees are tired or in unfamiliar locations. More than half (52%) of travel managers told us they believe taxis are the safest third-party ground transportation option for their staff.
Read the full report here or find out how a partnership with FREENOW will keep your business travellers safe.
