According to rail booking platform Evolvi, corporates are
turning to its services in increasing numbers to leverage the lower carbon and productivity
gains of business travel by train.
In 2019, more than 11 million
tickets covering 16 million journeys were transacted through the TMC-exclusive
EvolviNG self-booking tool and the EvolviWS API, which integrates with travel
portals, expense management systems and online booking tools. This compares to
9.4 million transactions in 2018.
At the same time, corporate
travellers benefited from average ticket values (ATV) of around £56 – on a par
with 2018 – more than ‘beating’ the effect of 2019’s 3.1 per cent mandated
fares increases. By comparison, in 2012 the ATV stood at almost £62, but has
reduced over time despite year-on-year fare rises as a result of the widespread
adoption of Evolvi functionality.
“More corporate rail journeys than
ever before are being managed through Evolvi platforms, driven in part by the
cost benefits of smart procurement, but also because businesses seem to be
mandating rail over other modes of transport to lower their carbon footprint,”
said Andrew Cantrell, Evolvi managing director.
“While bearing down on cost
clearly remains a key consideration, feedback from customers also suggests that
environmental considerations and the productivity benefits of rail travel are
increasingly being factored in.”
Evolvi booking systems have
provided corporate users with C02 emissions information linked to rail journeys
for years, detailing comparisons with road and air travel during the booking
process.
For example, a passenger journey
from London Kings Cross to Edinburgh (journey duration: 04:31) is responsible
for CO2 emissions of 25.85kg, while the equivalent for air travel is 160.12kg,
and for car (petrol) 113.59kg (DEFRA calculations).
“While this information was
originally used by businesses for mandatory reporting purposes, the debate has
now become much more focused on Corporate Social Responsibility in line with
wider concern over environmental impact and sustainability,” added Cantrell.
“I believe this is shifting
behaviour in the corporate space – and even when electric vehicles eventually
overcome challenges in range and charging infrastructure – rail travel will
still likely win out for the majority of business users because trains not only
connect to city centre locations, most of the time they also provide a more
stress-free experience than road journeys.”
evolvi.co.uk