GUEST BLOG: How tech is changing ground transportation

Technology has not only changed the way we communicate and the way we work, it has changed the way we travel. Less than five years ago, it was the norm to phone for a cab, hoping that it would turn up and the driver would be outside waiting for you, using the phone dispatcher on the phone as the sole point of contact.  No details of the driver would be given to the passenger and there would certainly be no live tracking of the journey. Now, apps like mytaxi enable passengers to receive the drivers name, phone number, unique taxi ID information as well as the all important image of the driver as standard. Putting passengers in control and giving travellers, family members and employers peace of mind.

Travel providers are constantly giving more choice to individuals, and this has changed the way we think about our travel options, tech companies have to work harder to ensure their services are top quality to make sure it is their app we download. We are moving towards an age of “access over ownership”, the need to own a car for example, is quickly diminishing.  This change in our culture has led to an evolution in ground transportation with more and more people turning to spending on taxi journeys over car ownership, particularly in cities.

This is also true for employers - with the realisation that you can get more from your staff if they can work while in transit and this has contributed to a move to multimodal transport. Gone is the need to own a fleet of vehicles or provide company cars, unless job dependent. Trains, buses and taxis get travellers from A to B while also giving them valuable time back to respond to emails, work on documents and presentations, or to just unwind after a hectic day of meetings, while travelling safely to their destination.

The move towards booking platforms has made travel managers jobs far easier too. Technology has enabled the development of solutions that allow for expense management tools to work alongside booking platforms. No longer do we need to scramble around for receipts or spend hours filing expenses, centralised reporting can be completed monthly, leading to greater accountability and productivity for business travellers.

This post was written by David Savage, UK General Manager at mytaxi who will be at stand B1300 at Business Travel Show next week - 20-21 February 2019 at Olympia London. Please register for a free visitor pass at www.businesstravelshow.com/register